


Case by case

by Shevron



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Drugs, F/M, Organized Crime, Police
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28792248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shevron/pseuds/Shevron
Summary: After the events of the ISM, life calmed down but sadly it can´t always be like that.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 25
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

# Prolog

It was well after midnight when he moved through the ventilation shafts of the old building. Despite the thick layer of dust and the constant itching in his nose, he was able to successfully suppress sneezing thanks to years of work.  
His team had surpassed themselves to track down this object within a few hours of the first clues and now all that was missing was his personal confirmation. As always.  
In the end he reached his goal: a grate in the ground, as he had passed countless times. The room below, however, wasn't as deserted as the rest of the building.

The room was brightly lit and there were several rows of tables next to each other and animals with masks over their snouts produced a gray-bluish powder, while others filled the same into small clear bags. Finally, the bags were put into various small toys such as bouncy balls and key rings, as they can currently be found on every second satchel and then packed in inconspicuous brown boxes. 

His expression was marked with disgust and a determination usually not attributed to his kind, when he took more pictures with his phone, like on one of the lower floor, where he had tracked down the raw material of the powder... Blue flowers, well known and feared all over town...

A wild boar entered the room and roared.  
"GO GO GO! The delivery must now get out of here! There mustn't be problems again!"  
With that he grabbed a young gazelle by the neck and pulled her up to him.  
"Have I made myself clear?!"  
The girl barely made a sound and could only nod.  
"I hope so!"

He knew only too well the history of these animals: young women, single parents. Usually barely enough money to offer food for their children or a roof over their heads and no other way to get money, as in such facilities to work at night for a pittance...  
He would love to intervene himself, but he couldn't risk being discovered, in his own interest as well as that of his teams.

He clenched his paw in a fist and turned away to leave the building as silently as he had entered it.  
In the alley by the building, he went to an inconspicuous, dark, small car that clearly showed its age in various places with rust.  
As he got in the back, two wolves came up and looked at him.  
"We can."  
The wolf at the wheel nodded and started the engine while the wolf at his side turned to face him.  
"Jack. We have to think of something new. Tonight, with my dear brother here, I had to play the horny couple three times, while you were gone."  
The rabbit in the back seat kept a straight face and his white paw was cramped around his cell phone.  
That was unusual for him and both wolves felt that the discovery was worse than expected.  
They had just got to the street when they heard his voice from behind.  
"Sir, Savage here... Yes, we found a kitchen for moondust. Rainforest District, Fog Street, in the old Samantha's, third and fourth floors. It's supposed to be loaded today. They hid it in… toys of the kind currently popular with young school children. Perhaps that should also be the customers..."  
A slight jolt went through the car as the wolf at the wheel winced at this detail.  
“An estimated 30 female forced laborers. Foreman is a wild boar... You should have received the pictures by now... Yes... The third one in the last 10 days... I have already assigned all my teams to it... Thank you sir."


	2. Fire and Flames

# Fire and Flames

Benjamin Clawhauser loved his job at the precinct reception for many reasons. Even that his shift started earlier than most of his colleagues was no reason to think otherwise. So he was able to greet everyone and in particular the arrival of his two smallest colleagues was one of his daily highlights.  
Who needed a TV when he could watch those two?

"Carrots, you can´t seriously hold this old story against me!"  
"Old?! That was just two weeks ago!"  
"But…"  
"Nick! There are two options: Either you stop crying, or..."  
"Or what?"  
"It could happen that I do not forget my pill... for the next few weeks..."  
Nick went almost as pale as the beaming smile that Judy displayed.  
"If I think about it, I find that it is a wonderful idea small Judy accompany us at our next visit to Bunnyburrow to show her the country life."  
Judy grabbed his tie and pulled him down to her.  
"Good fox."  
Then she rubbed the tip of her nose against his, turned and waved to Benjamin.  
"Good morning Ben!"  
“Good morning Judy! Good morning to you too, Nick! "  
"Hi Spots."  
Nick didn't take his eyes off his wife as he ran his paw along the collar of his uniform and finally followed her.

"That's better than any soap opera."  
Ben took the tape from the small camera on his table, put it in a sleeve and labeled it with the current date. Then took it out a key on a chain under his uniform and put it to various other bands in a closed drawer.  
"Hm. With that, the next season 'The Wilde-life' should soon be complete."  
After he had secured the material he pulled out a calendar from the drawer above it and was delighted to see he had not made a mistake.  
>Freddy will have his 10th service anniversary in two weeks... That would be the perfect season final...<

Without much detours, they went to the bullpen and sat down on their shared chair.  
Nick couldn't resist to run his paw quickly over her well-toned bottom.  
With a big grin he leaned down to her and whispered in her ear.  
"Did you take your pill this morning?"  
"Do I look like I'm just ripping your uniform off your body?"  
"Well... I bet that even Bogo would... react in an interesting way."  
Judy's mind then formed an image of how she attacked Nick in front of her colleagues and Chief Bogo entered... His jaw would hit the floor and she would turn to him.  
“Just a moment, Chief. We'll be ready soon."

The next moment Nick flew off the chair and rubbed his arm.  
"Nick! You are unbelievable! I can't get rid of this picture now!"

“Then you'll have to live with it. Wilde, the show is over. Everyone to their place."  
Apparently out of nowhere, Chief Bogo was standing at the desk and those present could swear they saw a slight grin on their superior. No one in their right mind would pronounce this, however.

“Did you like the idea so much that we could even make YOU smile? Then you can look forward to tomorrow. Same place, same time. I hope you can be there again!"  
"... Wilde. If you want parking duty for the rest of the year, you just have to say it."  
"A generous offer that I have regrettably to refuse."  
"One more word and I insist."  
Before Nick could catch his breath, a gray paw closed around his muzzle.  
"Smart decision."

"Now to todays assignments:  
Snarlov, Grizzoli. Tundratown. Rumor has it that individuals using a new type of designer drug may be in the university's ice hockey hall area. If there's anything to it, then I want to know everything about it."  
The polar bears picked up the file from Chief Bogo and left the room.

“Fangmeyer, Wilde. The prosecutor was delighted with your work on the gang of forgers and asked for a small favor. Savannah Central. Patrol by paw."  
It shone in their eyes that it suddenly seemed twice as bright in the room.  
Inexplicably, Chief Bogo managed to look at both women at the same time.  
“Eyes on the animals. Not the shop windows. Clear?"  
"YES!"  
"Hm."  
Both women left the room with an undiminished glint in their eyes.

“Wolford, Wilde. There was another fire this morning in an abandoned store. Check it out. If we have a serial arsonist here, we can all prepare for overtime.  
Rest of the patrol as before. Dismissed."

Side by side, Nick and Freddy left the room and headed for the garage while Nick had already shoved his nose into the file.  
"Tell me, Freddy, have you ever been to Samantha's?"  
"Samantha's? Sounds familiar."  
“A department store for the top 500. Extremely luxurious and only the best of the best. Had to close down 10 years ago after the director was involved in various thefts and nobody wanted to go there. Even if you could afford it. "  
"Now that you say it... Fog Street or something, right?"  
"Yup. Was a nice shop. Reception with sparkling wine, personal care, special requests were a matter of course..."  
Freddy had just driven her car out of the garage when he noticed something.  
"... Wait a minute... It sounds like you've been there before..."  
"I have."  
It took a lot of effort not to give Nick just a quick look.  
"No chance you ever belonged to their customer clientele!"  
"Let me put it this way: I was there on business."  
Freddy rubbed a paw over his muzzle before laughing.  
“That was so obvious. Why do I ask so stupidly?"

The traffic was once again the usual morning terror: animals of all sizes naturally wanted to take the shortest route, which led to long traffic jams and ended in endless honking concerts. At least there wasn't a rear-end collision this morning, that in itself was good news.  
Thanks to Nick and Freddy's extensive local knowledge, they were able to avoid the traffic, but accordingly the route was of course longer, so it took over an hour to get there.

When they arrived, Freddy couldn't help but whistle.  
The building was six stories tall, despite its age, the brick walls were still a bright red, and the building wasn't cluttered with billboards like most major downtown malls. The only adornment was the name Samantha's in filigree font above the main entrance, which was raised some steps, so you can´t see further from the street than the big store window of the ground floor.

“I can still remember Björn Erikson very well. He was a moose who circled half the world to start a new life here. Although he only managed to become the doormammal, but his accent had just the right dose of exoticism that they were looking for. Björn always kept his uniform completely immaculate and was both the first and the last animal that was seen. And he had taken this responsibility very seriously. Nevertheless he was always in the mood for a good joke..."

They entered the building and the massive reception was dusty, but still in perfect condition.  
“There, behind the narrow passage on our right, we had the cloakroom, and here on the left we had a small salon, in which the ladies could have everything their heart desired. Be it the fur, the hooves, the claws... Nothing remained unfulfilled. In the front right there was a small bar where customers could wait and be served when it was so full that no personal advisor was available."  
Thanks to Nick's clear descriptions, he could almost imagine how he moved between the rich and powerful.  
“And here we had the main area. To our left was a large free area with various catwalks, on which the latest fashion from all over the world was presented and the ladies were also able to brag about their latest achievements on the catwalk, if they wanted. And for the ladies who were a little more shy, there were individual booths on the right, where only selected companions and their personal advisors had access."

"I would not have taken you for the kind of animal that would be in such establishments, Officer Wilde."  
“Chief Doberman, good to see you. What gives us the honor?"  
“I am also an experienced fire investigator. Has Chief Bogo informed you of our fears?"  
"Serial arsonist."  
"I agree. I've got a first overview and it's actually not difficult to see what happened here: Fire accelerator, I'll guess gasoline, on the third and fourth floors.  
Thanks to the stable construction of the building, the fire did not spread so that the elevator is still functional. "  
"I am not surprised. It is still real workmanship and was in constant use. And if even the smallest problem arose, Johnny let us know."  
"Johnny?"  
“The elevator boy. A rabbit. He could hear when even a single roll had to be lubricated. And he was discreet. Was also necessary in his position..."  
Nick giggled at his last statement and his two companions looked at him questioningly.

"I'll show you."  
With that he led them to the rather small elevator and stood there at the lever with the inscription 'Up' and 'Down' under the button to open and close the doors.  
“'Good afternoon ladies and gentlemammals. If you would tell me what you are looking for, I will take you to the appropriate floor immediately.'  
The passengers then say what they are looking for and the female guests in particular often had problems when looking for toys for adults.  
The sex toy business is extremely lucrative, even among the upper class.  
,I understand. I assure you that nobody will find out from me what they are looking for.'  
Then it goes up to the third floor."  
Nick pushed the lever in the 'up' direction until the display above the door read a '3'.  
“'Accessories for both male and female. If you wish to be taken to another floor, do not hesitate to ring the bell.'  
That is why there is no display on the individual floors above the elevator showing where the elevator is currently. Since not everyone should know that."  
Nick opened the doors and stopped.  
"... But they don't belong here."  
"Have you made a mistake in floor Officer Wilde?"  
"No. Definitely not."  
In front of them there were several rows of tin tables and on these were the remains of plant pots, soil and something that could once have been plants.  
“The florist was on the second floor. In this building would never something used like these simple sheet tables. In other stores, yes, but not here. It looks like a simple nursery."  
"Chief, you said the fires were started on the third and fourth floors?"  
"Yes."  
"And the fire certainly did not get up by any other route?"  
"No."  
Without another word, he closed the elevator doors and went up one floor.  
There were also several rows of tables there, but the scorch marks were not limited to these.  
"They don't belong here either."  
There were piles of slag on the walls that might have been the target of this fire.  
"Whatever is going on here, we can at least find out now what it's about."  
"Indeed Officer Wolford, I'm going to do a little more familiarizing myself with the pattern on the third floor and examine the other two fires. Maybe I will notice something new now."  
"Thank you chief. We'd better take a look around here and then return to the station."  
"All right. I wish you success."  
"Thanks. You as well."

"Jack, can you talk right now?"  
"Yes. At the moment I am standing in front of a red light. Why?"  
"I have something I need your help with..."  
"It's not by chance that a certain lady wants to loll in bed with a certain rabbit... In nothing more than snow-white, soft fur?"  
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before the answer was breathed into the phone.  
"... Hmmm... now that you say it... there are two things..."  
"... And what is the other?"  
“Unfortunately on business. I just got a tip from an informant. There is said a delivery is stored near the Bunnyburrow train station to be brought to Zootopia shortly. The next train leaves in 20 minutes and you should be nearby, right?"  
"Coincidentally yes..."  
"If you hurry up, you could be back here tonight and then I wouldn't mind if we... take a little time..."  
“You really know how to motivate me. Until this evening."

The BB's was a small snack bar in the rainforest district that was famous among the initiated for its good but at the same time inexpensive cuisine for both prey and predatory animals.  
It was on one of the lower levels on Moss Street. Deep enough that it wasn't a long detour, but still high enough to be able to enjoy the view.  
As it was so often, the animals in blue were there again today to allow themselves a moment of rest and a filling meal.  
“A bug burger with crickets, ketchup and a coffee. Wolf-sized. In addition..."  
Freddy looked down at Nick and waited for his answer.  
"Make two out of it."  
The young tigress behind the counter looked at the fox in police uniform before her gaze wandered back to the wolf in uniform.  
He showed a bright grin.  
"Do not worry. He has enough physical activity, especially at this time of year, to get rid of that... even on duty."  
She turned red and an older she-wolf came along.  
"Freddy! Jill has just her first day and you want to scare her off?"  
"Oh come on, Kate, as if you weren't going to tell her all about Nick during your next break at the latest. Now that she has seen him in person."  
"What are you imputing to me here?!"  
Kate pressed her paw to her chest and looked at Freddy in horror, while Freddy returned the look without moving.  
She couldn't take it for ten seconds before she started laughing and sent the two cops to the back of the room with a wave of their paws.  
“Now rush to your seats. Your food is coming soon."

Both reached their usual table and took each one bill out of their pockets.  
"Five in less than a minute."  
"Five in less than 30 seconds."  
Nick put his phone on the table and started the stopwatch.  
"25... 26... 27..."  
A scream from the kitchen broadened Nick's grin.  
"WOW!"

"Thanks for the kind donation Freddy."  
"It will look different next time."  
"You say that every time."  
Both pricked up their ears when an all-too-well-known hate speech to Mayor Velvetpaw could be heard faintly from the kitchen.  
“And now she understands what you meant. I wanted to offer you a revenge, but since Kate is pushing our food into Jill's paws, we know how she will react here at the table... right?"  
A few minutes later, as predicted, Jill stood at the table with her orders in her paws, her cheeks crimson and stared in Nick's direction as she placed the food on the table.  
Both thanked them and dig into their food.  
Freddy had just half of his burger when he looked at Nick and his empty paws.  
"I'll probably never get used to how fast you can scarf your food down without choking."  
“If my little carrots doesn't take her pill, then there's no time to chew. Then it's time to eat quickly or starve."  
Nick's grin widened and he began to look into space.  
"If I interpret this dreamy look correctly, this gang of counterfeiters kept her so busy that she thought of her pill?"  
"Yup. Fortunately, we have plans for the weekend... to be forgetful..."  
Freddy's big grin could almost compete with Nick's as he pushed his crickets over to Nick.  
"I think you need the energy more urgently than I do."

A loud bang and a vigorous shake finished the good atmosphere and ended at the same time their lunch break.  
They both jumped up and ran to the door, only to see a small building in flames one level above.  
"Call for reinforcements and come up with the car."  
"And you?"  
"I'll take the direct route."  
With that Nick jumped on the roots of the main tree and quickly climbed to the next level.  
>Please let this be just an accident in an empty building...<

Just as Nick had reached the next level, the hourly rain shower started and, given the flames, it couldn't hurt.  
With horror he noticed the dark small car next to the house and also the bicycle that was once leaned against the wall.  
Without thinking about it, he stormed through the doorway, as the door was torn off its hinges in the explosion, and into a large room.  
It was one of the many shared apartments, which always had the same structure: One bathroom on the left side, several bedrooms on the back wall and a large common room with kitchenette.  
The smoke stung his eyes and chest, so he got down on all fours and scurried across the floor to find the residents.  
After a few moments he saw two white paws and realized that it was not just one animal, but two.  
A young wolf with gray fur and almost black rings around the eyes and a young she-wolf with light gray fur and dark gray fur from her ears to the nape of the neck. Both could hardly be older than 20 and it seemed as if he was still trying to shield them with his body from the explosion, as he had severe burns on his back.  
Spontaneously he took the collar of the she-wolf in his maw and pulled her on all fours out.  
Outside, Freddy was already standing with the car and giving further information over the radio.  
When he saw him he came straight to Nick and took the unconscious body from Nick while he was coughing.  
“We have at least one other victim. Wolf. About her age."  
He tore at Freddys uniform the now sodden sleeve and tied it around his snout before he was running again. Meanwhile, his partner had already started resuscitation.  
When Nick came out with the second victim, the first fire fighters had arrived and took the motionless wolf from him while he let himself fall on his back.  
Immediately someone pressed an oxygen mask on his muzzle, but Nick pushed it away first.  
“I could still find a victim. A badger. Heavy stature. Back corner of the main room. I couldn't search the individual rooms. "  
“Understood, Officer Wilde. We'll take over from here."  
With that, the zebra again pressed the mask onto his muzzle, while an elephant and a rhino in heavy protective suits stormed into the apartment.  
When he let his gaze wander to the side, he saw the three wolves and something inside him contracted. Freddy was sitting in one of the ambulances with a blanket over his shoulders and had a blank look while two covered bodies lay in front of him...

After a few minutes Nick had caught himself enough that he could go to his partner and put his paw on his shoulder.  
It took almost three minutes before Freddy responded to the paw on his shoulder.  
"... She... She looks so damn similar to Trisha... I... I called home in my panic and asked Lea whether our girls are at home... I was... happy... when she told me that they were at home... HAPPY that it was the daughter of someone else!"  
“Freddy, listen to me: that doesn't make you a bad animal! EVERYONE would have thought so! You mustn't blame yourself..."  
A hoof settled on his other shoulder and he looked up. Right in Chief Bogo's muzzle.  
“Wilde is right. I would have been more concerned if you hadn't thought that way. We'll get to the bottom of it. And when we have found the culprit, he will not be able to evade the just punishment."  
Even before Freddy could reply, Chief Bogo continued.  
"Wolford... Until our psychologist finds you fit for action again, you are released from duty."  
"But…"  
“These are no ordinary victims for YOU. Believe me, this will haunt you at least one or two days, if not longer. Once you're back on track, you'll be working on this case. I give you my word on that."

"Wilde."  
Nick looked up and Chief Bogo nodded his head in the direction of the patrol car.  
"Am I correct in assuming that you did not notice the radio traffic when you took out the... victims?"  
Nick could only nod.  
“There were two more explosions at the same time. Several dead. I don't think it's a coincidence. I want my best animals for this investigation. Can I count on you?"  
Nick's gaze went to the now three covered bodies near the ambulance.  
"Definitely. 100%."


	3. First Revelations

# First Revelations

A black limousine stopped in front of the precinct to let Judy and Liz out. The former was holding a file and her eyes were worried.  
They entered the building and before anyone could say anything, Nick walked over to both of them and wrapped his arms around Judy while he pressed his nose into the fur between her ears and began to sniff frantically.  
"Nick?"  
"Just... Just a moment..."  
Liz wasn't sure what had happened to Nick, but he didn't seem in the best shape.  
"You were at the explosion in the Elm Street, right?"  
"Yes?"  
"Freddy and I were in Moss Street at BB's when the explosion occurred there... One of the victims was a young she-wolf... She looked very similar to Trisha and he thought it was her at first..."  
Judy stiffened and Nick didn't have to think about what was going on inside her.  
"Luckily she wasn't, but... None of the three animals there made it..."  
"Oh Freddy..."  
Judy looked around but couldn't make out him.  
“He's with his family… Needs some time to process this shock."  
Judy looked at him and her gaze hardened.  
"Follow us."  
With that she grabbed his paw and pulled him up the stairs to the door marked ‘Chief Bogo’, while Liz followed them.

After a knock, the deep voice rang out with the request to enter.  
"Wilde? Fangmeyer?"  
"Chief. I got very important and extremely worrying information."  
"Sit down."  
Judy and Nick shared a chair while Liz sat down next to them.  
"Officially, I received this information anonymously..."  
"And unofficially?"  
"... FruFru gave me this from her father."  
The thought alone was enough for Chief Bogo to let the hackles jump.  
"You put Snarlov and Grizzoli on the rumors about the new drug this morning..."  
Judy took some papers from the file in her paw and handed them to her boss.  
"... It's worse than we can imagine. The drug is called moondust and is basically a modified version of the serum that Bellweather used."  
"Do you mean...?"  
"Yes. Nighthowler. The bad thing is that at first it just creates euphoria and... well... stimulates the muscles. There are occasions when an animal uses more strength than it normally should. Like a mother knocking a big car over to save her trapped child and stuff. That is exactly what is triggered. In a small dose the effect ends fairly quickly and with a large dose it probably work similar as the original serum and suppressed partially consciousness... and the victims are little more than wild animals solely obeying their instincts..."  
"Why haven't we heard about it yet?"  
"Very easily. Mr. Big took care of the drug labs before large quantities could be made."  
"The fires…"  
"Correct."  
"That makes sense."  
Everyone looked at Nick.  
"How does that make sense?"  
"Mr. Big had two daughters... FruFru's older sister died when a rival family tried to make her addicted to control her. They got the dose wrong and it resulted in an excruciating death. Since then, drugs in Zootopia led guaranteed to... 'clear announcements'... from the Big family."  
"And how did he know where these labs were located?"  
"That's why he turned to me and thus to the ZPD..."  
Judy passed the file in her paws to Chief Bogo.  
"... In order to track down such laboratories... or other places and persons that could be of interest to him, Mr. Big has a special employee."  
Chief Bogo opened the file and recognized it as a personnel file.  
The first thing he noticed was the image of a rabbit with white fur and black stripes on its cheeks.  
“Jack Savage. He´s simply referred to as 'tracer rabbit' and that's what he does. He tracks down all sorts of things, passes this information on to Mr. Big, who then passes it on to his... 'Rough worker'... He is not involved in illegal activities and could work with us here at the precinct if there were no restrictions on our research like search warrants and so on."  
"Then we should get him here."  
“And that's exactly the problem. He doesn't work alone. He received the financial means from Mr. Big and with this he was allowed to hire animals that have skills that he does not have. From the beginning these animals should only be known to him in order to avoid losing all possibilities in the event of a leak to track down competing families or assassins. Because of the money there are at least 10 animals that work for him..."  
"And where exactly is the problem?"  
"He followed up on a tip that a delivery should be at Bunnyburrow and so he went on his way... He got in touch with Mr. Big..."  
Judy fell silent for a moment.  
"The train has derailed."  
"What?!"  
“The train has derailed. Immediately after he lost contact with the three hiding spots in which his three teams worked."  
"... Three teams... Three hiding places... Three explosions?"  
“That is exactly what we have to assume at the moment. And neither Savage, Mr. Big, nor I consider the train accident to be a coincidence."  
"And why did Mr. Big give us this information now?"  
“There must be a leak. The entire crew was about to be wiped out and they almost succeeded. Mr. Big asked me to officially go home because there are rumors that a member of my family was among the train victims. In fact, I'm supposed to find Savage and bring him to a safe place."  
"And where should that be?"  
“Well… he's a rabbit and I have a big family. It was proposed that I hide him with my family until Savage is back on his feet, as it would not attract attention if I´m in such a situation with my family."  
“Since he's an important witness, we can arrange that. But I actually need my best animals here..."  
Now Liz threw her idea into the room.  
"Chief. The rumor with her family one is actually not bad. If she takes care of this Savage until the victims are officially identified, then she can interrogate him in the meantime and give the information directly to us. So nobody but us would know that he is still alive and that she is taking care of him."  
"Well. Wilde, you take on this savage. Wilde, Fangmeyer, because Wolford is, until further notice, out, you will be partnered and responsible for the investigation of the explosions. Because of the fire..."  
"Um... Chief..."  
"What is Wilde?"  
"Mr. Big gave his daughter this envelope for you."  
With that, Judy gave him an envelope, which Bogo immediately opened.  
"... That old rascal..."  
"Sir?"  
“I'll take care of the fires personally. Don't worry about it anymore. Get on your way. The sooner you can interrogate this Savage, the sooner we will find the culprit."  
"Understood. I will take the next train... Moment. I need a car. Mostly civil."  
He picked up the phone and pressed a button on his phone.  
"Clawhauser, Officer Wilde has an urgent family-emergency and she gets the unmarked car number 9... Yes, exactly that."  
With that they left the room and Chief Bogo couldn't help but smile as he leaned back and read Mr. Big's letter again.

_Dear Chief Bogo,_

_my dear Judith must have just entrusted you with the information about the moondust, my measures to combat this disgusting substance and the fate of my esteemed subordinate Jack Savage.  
Due to the fact that Mr. Savage is in mortal danger, I would boldly assume, that your assistance regarding his rescue is most likely granted.  
Obviously, not all my actions are in harmony with the official legislation. However, since this is not ‘this type of business', I would like to address you as an animal of honor and ask you for a favor to disregard my name and that of the animals that acted on my behalf in this matter and, if necessary, to do so to trace back the actions of a single individual who shares my attitude towards this type of substance. Of course, neither you nor me can hold someone accountable for these acts who has nothing to do with them. For this reason I suggest that the said individual could not be identified in retrospect. _

_Sincerely,_

_Sergio Big_

"Hm... It could have been worse."

Ben caught her on the stairs and led her straight to the back of the garage, in which civilian vehicles for various purposes were kept.  
In front of a locked gate with a large ‘9’ on it, they stopped and Ben unlocked the door.  
"Is it really that bad Judy?"  
“I don't know, Ben. There was a train accident near Bunnyburrow and it could be that relatives of mine are among the victims."  
“By all gods! Now I understand why he wanted you to have this car..."  
With a strong jerk the gate rolled up and revealed civil vehicle number 9.  
“It's not exactly the most inconspicuous vehicle in the precincts fleet, but it is definitely the fastest."  
Despite his concern, he could not suppress a laugh, as he turned to his colleagues and all three had lost complete control over their jaws, ears steeply upwards and the eyes wide open till they had reached the physical maximum...  
They were just speechless when they stood in front of a night-black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am.  
"... We should have family emergencies more often..."  
Nick put his paw on Judy's shoulder and used it to lift her out of her paralysis.  
“You should drive off quickly. I'll let Bonnie know that you're on your way."  
"OK. I'll call when I get there. Maybe I'll know more then."  
So she grabbed the keys, still in Ben's paw, and jumped into the driver's seat.  
"Nick, do you really want to let her drive alone?"  
“I would like to go, but the explosions from this afternoon landed in our paws. You will have to deal with me for the time being, Spots."

When Judy started the engine a tremor went through his body and he looked at Judy. Her snout showed him that at that moment she was thinking exactly the same thing as him... Nick had to make up a good hustle that Chief Bogo would let them have this car on one of their days off... 

In the next moment Judy had left the garage and both Nick and Liz looked after her until she could no longer be heard...  
When they left the garage, they parted ways. Ben went back to his usual place and Nick went with his current partner to the next interrogation room.  
"Are you holding the line here so I can explain everything to Bonnie?"  
"Sure."  
Nick closed the door and dialed his mother-in-law's number.  
"Nick! What a happy surprise! How are you?"  
"According to the circumstances... Are you alone right now?"  
“Nicholas? What's happening?"  
"I'll explain everything to you, but this conversation must initially remain confidential."  
"Moment."  
Nick could hear Bonnie opening and closing several doors.  
"So. Has something happened to Judy?"  
"Oh no! Don't worry... First of all: Did you hear about the train crash at Bunnyburrow?"  
“Of course! There were many injured and even dead. Many of us are on site as volunteers."  
"OK. In short: It wasn't an accident. Somebody should die in the process. He survived. Injured. But nobody should know about that. Since he is a rabbit, the idea arose to hide him in Bunnyburrow. Judy is on her way with a car, collecting him and hiding him with you to nurse and question him... I have to stay here to take care of the investigation before whatever goes on escalates even further... If you agree."  
"Of course. Does Judy need anything else?"  
"Is it possible to organize a room where she can accommodate him without everyone knowing about him?"  
"Hm. I could put him up in the guest room upstairs. But I will have to initiate some of my children."  
“That's what I assumed. We don't know how bad things are for him... Is Sarah or Sam there by any chance?"  
"No, unfortunately not. But April is here. Although she is still about to graduate, she should already have mastered the most important things."  
"Wonderful. There was an official rumor that a relative was said to have been among the victims and that she is therefore coming home until all victims have been officially identified. Please make sure that the rumor has already reached at least a paw full."  
"You can count on me. Does Judy already know when she will arrive?"  
“Chief Bogo was generous and gave her a special car for the trip. You should hear them on your doorstep in about an hour. "  
"Then others will most likely too."  
Nick opened his eyes when he became aware of this detail and cursed wordlessly to himself.  
"You're right. She will first come home with the car and then set out in another car to pick it up. If possible, April can accompany her already."  
"Leave the details to me and make sure you get the culprit."  
"Thanks Bonnie."

After a few more minutes, Nick left the room and went to their desks, where he picked up the files on the victims of the explosion and then led Liz up the stairs to one of the smaller meeting rooms. It was not an unusual sight when colleagues took a meeting room for their investigations, particularly with extensive cases where it is preferable to be able to see everything at a glance.

Despite the onset of dusk, she could see the members of her family from afar as she approached the main building above the ground.  
There was of course her mother, whose serious expression was not unexpected. Standing behind her was Judy´s sister April with a black bag in her paws and her brother Casey in front of a pickup truck with construction for patient transport, on the loading area two carrying-stretchers and several first-aid kits attached to the sides. Nick had called her and told her that she had to go home first and that her mother would take care of everything else. Judy had to smile when her mother exceeded herself again.  
She had hardly left the car when her mother had already hugged her.  
"Everything is prepared. The two of them know and will help you bring the injured buck in without being noticed. When you have found him, we can proper welcome you. And now: Let's go!"  
She pushed Judy toward her siblings.  
"But the car..."  
"I'll take it to the garage."  
With that Bonnie closed the door and started the engine. That let a shiver run down the spine of those present.  
The situation would have been downright funny had it not been for the important task for Judy.  
She got in the pickup and started the engine while April and Casey got in.  
It was a clear difference to the sports car that brought her home, but also a lot less conspicuous and that was the only thing that counted at the moment.

"... Judy... Your boss gave you THIS gem?!"  
The question wasn't entirely unexpected, so she took a deep breath and suppressed a grin.  
“Since the train route was of course out of the question, I asked him for a vehicle. Since the rabbit the target of this attack had survived but was injured, I had to go home quickly. So he gave me the fastest car. And believe me: Nick and I were just as flabbergasted as you were when we saw WHAT he gave me."  
"So… How was it?"  
"You must have heard how many describe it?"  
"Oh yeah!"  
"… It's much better."

After less than 10 minutes, they arrived at a river spanned by a bridge. Across the river one could see the lights of the ambulances, as they stood by the partly still burning remains of the train and tried to save what could still be saved.  
But their destination was this side of the river by one of the pillars that supported the bridge. Or rather, the access door to a maintenance shaft.  
A trail of blood led from the water to the door and inside.  
"Wait here."  
With that she went to the door and opened it carefully. She climbed in and picked up her flashlight. But then she heard a click and her trained reflexes took over as she took cover before she had consciously registered the sound.  
"ZPD! Throw away the gun!"  
A faint laugh, interrupted by a gasp, came from the darkness in front of her.  
"A little away from your precinct... 'Officer'... Let me guess: You were 'by chance' in the area and are taking over the investigation of this 'accident', right?"  
"No. Mr. Big sends me to help you."  
A cough and the sound of something wet that hits concrete, was heard.  
"Mr. Big? ... Show me your snout, then we'll see."  
Judy pondered her options:  
Revealing her muzzle so he could be seen was a danger should he want to kill her. However, he should be informed that she is coming to save him...  
She took a deep breath and made a decision.  
"Ok."  
So she directed her flashlight on her muzzle and came out of her coverage.  
The reaction wasn't quite as expected when, after a few moments of silence, she heard a twisted laugh.  
"I should have known…"  
Slowly she turned the beam of light in the direction of the voice and found the rabbit whose file she had received from Mr. Big: Jack Savage.  
His left leg was blood smeared and seemed powerless. He pressed his left paw onto his bloody belly, where a pool of blood had formed below him, while his right paw was holding the pistol, which was no longer aimed in her direction, apparently lost the last of his strength. His left eye was swollen shut and his left large incisor was missing.

Judy went to him and knelt down. Without batting an eye, he let the weapon be taken from his weak paw and only then did Judy dare to avert her gaze.  
"APRIL! CASEY! THE AIR IS CLEAR!"

Casey held his sister back at first and only looked through the door to convince himself that the air was really clear.  
It wasn't that he wouldn't trust Judy. But just asking them to throw away the weapon was reason enough for him to be careful.  
After he was able to get a picture with his own eyes, he let his younger sister pass him, who sat down directly opposite Judy and already shone a small lamp in the rabbit's eyes.

"Do you know where you are?"  
"Bunnyburrow, second pillar of the railway bridge, maintenance shaft C3."  
April looked around and could read 'C3' on the wall next to her.  
"Well. Do you know what day it is?"  
“Monday, January the12th."  
"Do you know who you are?"  
"Yes."  
She was waiting for a more extensive answer, like the previous ones, but after a quick glance at Judy, she refrained from further questions. His consciousness did not appear to be affected, so she continued her examination and looked at his other injuries.

Since he didn't seem to have a serious head injury, her main concern was his stomach injury.  
She carefully lifted his arm and could see that the fur on his arm was clinging to caked blood in places and that her attempts to raise the arm further caused visible pain.  
At that moment she saw it as a good sign that both the pool of blood beneath him and the blood in his fur was already dry and crusty.

Then she ran her paw over his right leg and applied light pressure in several places.  
"Do you feel that?"  
"Yes."  
On the other side, she went back up his other leg.  
"And there?"  
"... No... I don't feel that..."  
"Tell me when you feel something again."  
Her paw slowly ran over his shin, knee and on half of his thigh Jack screamed.  
“Well, the good news: With a bit of luck, your nerves might just be trapped. The  
bad: The leg seems to be broken."

"April, is he transportable?"  
"We have to be very careful, but we should make it home."  
"Well. Casey, bring the stretcher."  
With that, Judy jumped up and walked over to April while her brother placed the stretcher next to Jack.  
“All right, that's how we do it: Casey, we both take his upper body. April, you take his legs. Nice and careful..."  
Judy and her brother slowly pushed their paws under Jack and Jack didn’t make a face.  
When April grabbed his leg, this changed and the buck grimaced, but he remained calm.  
"On three. One, two and three!"  
A deafening scream rose from his throat.  
They had not yet pulled their paws back when April pushed them aside and shone their lamp into his eyes again.  
"He has to go to a hospital."  
"No... no... hospital... no one is allowed... find out that... I am still... alive..."  
April looked at Judy and wanted her to talk sense into him, but her sister just shook her head.  
“You have to consider what kind of animals we are dealing with. They derailed the whole train just to kill him. Do you think such animals have trouble setting off a bomb in a hospital? Or worse?  
And he's our only chance to convict these beasts.  
That´s why we have to keep this a secret. And that is only possible if nobody but the absolutely necessary animals know about it."  
April and Casey suddenly felt as if they had shouldered a weekly ration of carrots when they realized how much was really at stake.

A short time later they were on their way back. Casey behind the wheel, while Judy and April sat with Jack in the back and watched him.  
As expected, her mother stood in front of the house and waited with another of Judy's sisters on their arrival.  
“OK, Judy. First he comes to the treatment room on the upper floor. Jeri and Jill are on emergency duty this week and will be at paw to help April. When he's settled, please come into the kitchen."  
Judy was not sure how it should interpret the last sentence of her mother, but she would see when Jack would be taken care of.

In a large family like hers, injuries were the order of the day and therefore at least two family members were always assigned as first aiders to occupy the well-equipped treatment room. From small cuts to broken bones, almost everything could be treated on site. Of course, a family member with medical training or the family doctor was brought in for the more serious cases.  
So he was in good paws and she could now turn to her mother.

As she had expected, her mother and some of her siblings were preparing the next meal when Judy entered the kitchen.  
Without looking up, she filled a bowl with fragrant vegetable soup and two cups with tea.  
"Billy, you have the kitchen."  
"Understood, mom."

Bonnie nodded in the direction of her office and took the two cups while Judy picked up the soup and a spoon and followed her mother.  
"Since you set out in a hurry, am I right in assuming that you haven't eaten much today?"  
At that very moment, both her words and the smell of the soup triggered a loud stomach growl and the insides of her ears began to turn red.  
Without even realizing it, she had sat down and the first spoon in her mouth when she rolled her eyes and groaned.  
"Ohhh... Mom, you are the best..."  
Before she knew it, the bowl was empty and she leaned back.  
“Now a hot shower and Nick. Then the evening would be perfect..."  
Her ears popped open and she looked at her mother, who smiled broadly at her.  
"... ... did I just say that out loud?"  
"Oh yeah. And that's exactly what you looked like. Had a lot on your mind?"  
“Well, our last case was quite a strain on Liz and me… Lots of overtime and little free time. It's bad for Nick right now. After all, now is the season for foxes. Yesterday we solved the case and I actually had plans for tonight and on our weekend off I wanted to 'forget' my pill..."  
"Ahh... I see... This is one of those extremely rare situations in which you are not particularly... excited... for your timo on duty."  
"You could say so…"

“I also put a few things in your room for you, because you didn’t drive past your apartment on the way here. And this here..."  
Bonnie took a packet of pills out of her pocket.  
"... should be your strength if nothing has changed for you."  
Judy took the package and looked at the label.  
It said:  
'Heat-Off 25mg - For rabbits from 30 in a sexually active relationship'  
“No, everything is the same. You're right. I really wasn't thinking too much when I set off. Would have been really bad if I hadn't had any..."  
“Of course I'm right. I haven't given birth to so many children without realizing what they need."  
Bonnie wasn't sure what it was, but she could swear something slipped through Judy's eyes.  
"You know what? I'll check on our guest, then take a hot shower and then go to bed early. With a little luck I can ask him tomorrow... Good night."  
Her mother couldn't even took a breath before her daughter had left the room.

Judy stood in front of the door of the hospital room for a few moments when she allowed herself to take a deep breath. She shook herself inwardly to catch herself and then knocked.  
It didn't take a minute until the door was opened and her sister Jeri stood in front of her.  
Her golden-brown fur made her look quite exotic, but she was a Hopps through and through and accomplished just as much in the fields in comparison as her other brothers and sisters.  
“Judy! It´s been so long!"  
Thus, the sisters embraced and they allowed themselves a moment of welcome before she led her inside.  
"How is he?"  
“He is doing according to the circumstances. He's lost a lot of blood, but April is sure she'll have it under control until we can determine his blood type and give him a transfusion. She had him pain medium administered, so he sleeps until further notice. We have to wait for the results of the examinations, but the leg only seems to be cracked and, as far as the feeling in his left leg is concerned, we can only check it when he is awake again..."  
"Can you already guess when that could be?"  
"He seems to be in pretty good shape, so we're optimistic that he might wake up sometime tomorrow during the afternoon."  
"Many thanks. Am I right in assuming that Mom told you?"  
"Of course."  
Judy sighed and ran her paw over her muzzle.  
"Well. I'll come by again tomorrow morning and see if everything is ok... I'll leave him to your capable paws. Good night."  
"Good night Judy."

She wasn't sure how long exactly, but she stood for a while with closed eyes under the warm water jets and just let them run over her body. The day had obviously done more to her than she wanted to admit.  
What would she not do now for her fox, who would be standing behind her, would massage her shoulders with his strong paws before his paws would wander lower.  
That thought alone was enough to make her moan and let her own paws wander.  
Their blunt claws drove through her coat over her breasts and to the sides of her thighs before gliding this burning path back up and to the middle of her belly, only to slide deeper from there, until her...

"The day was pretty tough, but we can be proud of what we did... wait a minute... JUDY?!"  
With that, her sisters ran to her and took her among them.  
The questions pounded on Judy.  
"Why didn't you let us know that you were coming home?"  
"How's it going in the big city?"  
"Where's Nick?"  
>Oh yes. Not even a bucket full of ice water can ruin the mood of an erotic daydream better than a horde of curious sisters...<  
After the initial shock at this unpleasant interruption had subsided, she could concentrate on explaining to her sisters the official reason why she had turned up so surprisingly and even managed to put her worries behind her to the point where she could actually relax.  
As a result, the quick shower turned into an extensive round of grooming and exchanges with her sisters, although for some it was the first time that they saw Judy without her eye patch.  
So it happened that she reported again on the events of the ISM initiative and lived through this period again. Both the good and the bad moments...  
After a good hour with her sisters, she arrived in her room and collapsed on the bed, exhausted. Immediately she felt the coldness of the empty bed and missed Nick, who currently needed her more than ever. She knew it wouldn't be enough, but she still picked up her phone and called him.

Many saw him as the pillar of the ZPD. He had no problem with that.  
Many saw him as the head of the family. He only had problems with that if Clawhauser was referred to as the mother of the family in the same breath.  
Many saw him as a personification of intimidation. The only problems with this were the animals he was dealing with. Especially if that were suspects, perpetrators or bureaucrats.  
Many saw him as a pure work-mammal with no life outside of his ZPD. He had problems with that, though in part it was because they were usually right about it.  
It wouldn't be the first night he'd been in his office by any means. Be it that a case made waves and he made sure that additional forces were available for raids or other large-scale operations or that the rosters were adjusted so that the animals under his command could attend important personal events such as performances by their children.

But even he eventually got to the point where he had to leave his office.  
So this point was reached when he had increasing problems concentrating and he decided to end his day and go home.  
Like every evening, he followed a strict procedure, clearing away all documents and checking the locks on all filing cabinets and drawers. These routine-security-check allowed him mentally to switch from business to private and soothed his worries to have forgotten something important.

When he had left his office and locked it, he could see through the large window-front of the station that it was already dark outside... That was nothing surprising. What was not common, however, was the light that was still on in the conference room near the stairs.

Nick leaned against one of the tables and looked at the wide blackboard against the wall. A map of the city was affixed there and red ribbons were attached to the sides at three markings:  
One led from Elm Street in Savannah Central to the pictures of two male mice, a female sheep and a lioness. Their bodies were burned almost beyond recognition.  
A further one led from the Heat Street to the images of four women ... a camel, a hippo, a pandarian and a tigress. Most of these were also covered with severe burns.  
The last one led from Mossstreet in Rainforest-District to the pictures of a male badger of heavy stature, a young wolf with gray fur and almost black rings around the eyes and a young she-wolf with light gray fur and dark gray fur from her ears to neck.  
It was noticeable that all of the victims looked quite young, Nick guessed they were in their early twenties.

When the door opened, only his ear twitched in the direction of the door and the heavy hooves made quite distinctive sounds.  
Without taking his eyes off the blackboard, he addressed his visitor.  
"Chief."  
"Wilde."  
At the same time a hoof held a cup of tea in front of his muzzle.  
"Is better than caffeine at this time of day."  
"Thanks."  
"She really looks like his daughter."  
"She does."  
"I don't want to hope that she's the reason you're still here."  
Reluctantly, a smile crept onto Nick's face.  
"No. Well, partly."  
A sigh escaped him before he continued.  
“It's the high point of season and Carrots is in Bunnyburrow. When I get home, then her fragrance flows in the air and into my nose... My head knows that she is not there, but my instincts don´t care. The result: I can't shut my eyes. I can just as easily stand here and think about the connections."  
Chief Bogo made a face.  
"Wilde..."  
“Not necessary, Chief. We spoke on the phone earlier before she went to bed. If I had accompanied her, we would both feel better. However, since Freddy has also dropped out, you couldn't do without me. We'd rather take this... inconvenience..."  
Chief Bogo gave a short, derogatory laugh at this phrase.  
"OK. This... torture... than let the murderers of these animals, who had their whole life ahead of them, get away with it."  
That was one of those moments when Chief Bogo couldn't be more proud to know such animals among himself.  
“Let's hope that this Savage is ready as early as possible tomorrow. Then maybe she can come back soon. Until then…"  
The buffalo at his side reached into his pocket and removed a key from his key ring and pressed it into Nick's paw...  
“When she is back I want it back in perfect condition. Understood?"  
While Nick was still staring at the key in his paw, his superior made his way to the door.  
“Thanks, Chief. And good night."  
"Night, Wilde."

It took more than an hour before Nick went to the basement of the station after a long shower and came to a stop in front of a door. Everyone knew about this door and its purpose, but Nick never dreamed that he would ever get into a situation in which he would have a reason to get the key to 'The Room'.  
Even before he became chief, Bogo had tried to prepare a room in the station where a colleague could stay if he had lost the roof over his head. The reasons for this could be manifold...  
It could be a bad breakup where you were put out by your partner.  
Or if the apartment had to be renovated after a fire or you even had to look for a new place to stay.  
A fox that could not go home during its mating season because the scent of its absent mate alone was enough to rob him his sleep...  
And still so many more possibilities...

'The room' was not particularly extravagantly furnished:  
A bed for large animals in the rear left corner.  
A desk and chair for large animals in the back, right corner, parallel to the bed.  
Last but not least, a shelf with a rod with two coat hangers on the front left side.  
A not inconsiderable shot of nostalgia ran through him when he realized that it was like Judy's old apartment in which she lived after the academy.  
He had to think of all the special milestones they had experienced there:  
The first evenings together...  
The first dinner together...  
The first nights together...  
The first touches that were no longer just friendly...  
The first kiss...  
The first night as lovers...

Nick shook his head vehemently to keep his mind from wandering.  
"Pull yourself together!"  
He ran his paws over his muzzle several times and took several deep breaths. For the first time glad that the sweet scent of bunny wasn't in the air... a bunny who loved it...  
"ARGH!"  
Nick gave himself a resounding slap in the muzzle, hoping it would be enough.  
"Something tells me I have a long night ahead of me..."  
The day had taken its toll and he hoped that he would be too tired to dream.  
So he shuffled over to the bed and curled up on it.  
In less than five minutes, he turned on his other side. Then on his back.  
>Who am I kidding? The night will be pure hell. Definitely. 100%...<


	4. Families - Joy, Fear, and Pain

# Families - Joy, Fear, and Pain

Elizabeth Fangmeyer, like the rest of her family, was an early riser and happy about it.  
It gave her time with her family before she went on duty. Be it a little grooming with her mate before getting up, some time to play with their kittens or to cuddle, or just a group breakfast. Of course, she preferred to have everything together, but there wasn't usually enough time for that...  
So today too.  
On the way to the station, she would check Freddy's house and if necessary take Lea aside to get a more detailed description of his condition.  
To do this, she got some donuts from the bakery at the end of the street before setting off.

"LIZ! I was wondering when you would come over. Come on in."  
Lea was a wolf with white and gray fur and almost black on her muzzle.  
“Well, a night out with the family can work wonders. That's why I'm only here today."  
Liz looked around and Freddy was nowhere in sight. Then she turned to Lea in a whisper.  
"How is he holding up?"  
“When he got home yesterday, he behaved worse than when Trisha was hit by the car. He didn't let her out of his sight and kept her close to him... In the meantime he put his tail around her and licked her fur in a way he hasn't done since she was a puppy."  
A small smile crept into her worried face before she continued.  
"If we hadn't been warned, she would have pulled the fur over her father's ears."  
"And how is he holding up this morning?"  
"He was startled in bed and looked around the table before he just dropped and mumbled that he was acting like an overprotective father with his first puppy."  
"How did you react?"  
"She said: You are absolutely right."  
Both females were startled when the subject of their conversation suddenly stood behind them.  
"Freddy! How are you?"  
"My nose tells me that thanks to that little package in your paws I am feeling much better."  
"That was the plan."  
Despite the wonderful aroma that rose straight into his nose when Liz handed him the donuts, the laughter faded from both his snout and his eyes.  
"I hope the doc writes me fit for duty again today... I would love to see the monster that did this to them..."  
Liz put her paw on his shoulder and squeezed.  
“You are not alone there. Are you coming with me?"  
"No. The doc isn't free until this afternoon and the chief pulls the fur over my ears if I show up beforepaw. I just hope it goes quickly."  
“Let's hope for the best. I'll see you later."  
The farewell was warm as always and she was reassured that her former partner was doing better.

When she arrived, she had half an hour left before Chief Bogo announced the rosters, as he did every morning. This suited her because she wanted to quickly drop by the laboratory anyway to see whether the tracers of the CSI had already been evaluated.  
There she met her on Damon Snow, a husky who was also one of the best forensics in town.  
Its fur was mostly black, with white arms, legs, belly and muzzle. The black fur around his eyes fell in such a way that he gave the impression that pure evil was standing in front of you, but he was always an extremely friendly and courteous animal.  
"Good Morning. I wanted to ask whether the evaluation..."  
"Too late. Nick picked up the documents over an hour ago."  
Liz stared at him, then her watch, and then back at him.  
"But you've already looked at the clock, haven't you?"  
"Oh yeah."  
"Nick? Nicholas Piberius Wilde? Red fox? Has nicknames for everything and everyone? Married to Judy? "  
"Yup. Exactly that one."  
Liz couldn't believe it...  
Her expression was correspondingly disturbed when she tried to process this detail.  
She only found her way back to the present when she heard a click and Damon stood in front of her with his phone.  
"Hey Jonny! I won the bet. She doesn't believe it and I even have the photo to prove it."  
“Oh Liz! You know that one should never underestimate a Wilde! After all, you've been Judy's partner for years."  
She had to admit that he wasn't entirely wrong.  
"I think I'd better go now before I'm late for the morning meeting."

It wasn't difficult to guess where she would find her temporary partner. What she was not counting on, despite everything, was the case table.  
Was this the evening before hardly more than a city map with pictures of the victims, so were now to see information about each picture and each scene large blocks. Facts were listed in black, while inferences and speculations were in red.

"Good… morning?"  
"Morning, Liz."  
Nick didn't move a muscle as he stared at the board, but the coffee in his paws was still steaming.  
"How is it that you are already here?"  
"The chief let me have 'The Room' until Judy is back..."  
She was about to ask why the Chief considered this necessary, until Nick brought the cup to his snout and inhaled deeply the strong aroma before taking a sip.  
Two important things occurred to her:  
On one paw Judy had often told her how sensitive his nose was and on the other paw how she loved it, when he reacted to her smell, especially at THIS time.  
From there on, it wasn't difficult to answer this question yourself.  
"... Oh..."  
"I agree. I suggest we go down first and when we get back I bring you up to date. OK?"

Judy was startled when she realized how late it was. With her eyes wide open, she stared at the clock, which indicated in glowing red numbers that it was now past six in the morning.  
For most of the animals in Zootopia this is hardly worth mentioning, for Judy everything beyond five in the morning was as if she had overslept for several days.  
Without thinking about it, she reached for her uniform, only to find that all she had on her paws was a soft flannel shirt.  
It took her five seconds before her brain awoke from its shock and she remembered that she was not in her and Nick's apartment, but in the burrow of her family and that her mother had left some things ready for her.  
With a touch of sadness, she looked at the empty side of the bed before pulling on shorts and a t-shirt and leaving the room. The next breakfast shift wouldn't start for about an hour, so she decided to leave the burrow and do a little exercise. Extensive stretching, then a short run of three kilometers, followed by a few exercises and another three kilometers to come down.  
It was far from the scope of her usual training, but since she thought she had overslept so much, she had to put the rest off until later. Maybe towards the evening.  
With luck that would help her fall asleep.

After a quick shower, she was in the dining room and stood in one of the rows for the food distribution.  
The dining room was a long oval room, with the tables lined up, while the side was peppered with several pass-throughs to the parallel kitchen. In this way, several dozen rabbits could be served at the same time, while strict discipline was maintained. And for the impetuous children, there was a separate area in the back, in which the parents and their children could sit and eat on special rubber cushions without too much cleaning problems, since the room could simply be rinsed out with a water hose. It was not for nothing that this room was given the title 'The Rubber cell'.

Judy was looking for a free seat when someone called her from the quieter area in front of the partition.  
“Judy! Over here!"  
She followed the familiar voice and, as expected, found her litter sister Trudy. When Judy was close enough that she could really see her, she almost froze.  
Trudy's fur was almost identical to hers, but the area around the eyes was almost black and they were dark blue.  
What was a distinct, if temporary, difference, however, was her belly:  
Big, round and, like a perceptible movement of the skin, full of life.  
"Uff."  
Trudy put her paw on her stomach and rubbed the place where Judy had previously noticed the movement.  
“Hey, rest in there! Mommy wants to have breakfast in peace today."  
When Judy looked into her eyes, they radiated that warmth that only the eyes of expectant mothers shows.  
"Sit down. It's been an eternity since we last saw each other."  
Judy giggled.  
"Eternity? I wouldn't call last year's harvest an eternity."  
"Oh, believe me. With these little ones, everything that is longer than five minutes is an eternity... especially at night..."  
She grabbed Judy's paw and placed it on her stomach.  
“Do you feel that? That robs me my sleep, but I wouldn't want to trade it for anything in the world!"  
"This is your fourth litter now, right?"  
“My fifth. When you consider that I'm only a minute younger than you, it's actually strange that you're not yet yourself..."  
Trudy clapped her paws over her muzzle.  
“Oh, Judy… I'm so sorry! I did not want to…"  
"All right. We have heard this enough times. That it is extremely unlikely, downright impossible, for most interspecies-couples to have children. This is the only argument that the opponents of the ISM hold up to this day."  
It still hurts terribly every time, but that shouldn't be Trudy's concern.

The tears gathered in her eyes… However, two paws were laid on Trudy's shoulders from behind. A rabbit with bright-brown fur leaned over her shoulder and whispered something into her ear with a soothing voice.  
“Just take it easy, dear. You had no bad intentions and your sister knows that too."  
Judy took her sister's paws in her own and turned to Trudy too.  
“James is absolutely right. No damage occurred. So you don't have to worry about it."  
It took a few moments and more reassurances that everything was okay before Trudy had collected herself enough to take a deep breath. Then she ran her chin over his muzzle, forehead, cheeks and neck to renew the scent on him before he returned the gesture with closed eyes and a big smile.

"One of the things I hate about my pregnancies is that I get so emotional..."  
"I believe you without hesitation."  
When she smelled their blended scents, she couldn't help but smile.

The scent of her fox was much more distinctive and long-lasting than that of a bunny and even after more than a day and two showers it was still clearly present on herself.  
As soon as she closed her eyes, she could smell Nick almost as clearly as if he were standing in front of her. He had put his arms around her and carefully tended each spot with his tongue before he ran his cheeks over her.  
Over her snout...  
Over her head...  
Over her ears...  
Over her neck...  
"Judy?"  
She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw were the amused looks of her sister and her mate.  
Then she noticed her racing heart and the almost panting, which she often had in Nick's presence when they were alone.  
"Oops..."  
Trudy was amused. If a rabbit didn't have her body under control in this form, it was usually only due to one thing.  
"Did you forget your pill today?"  
"... uh... no?"  
James's expression changed from amusement to shocked while he stared at her.  
“I have to admit, now I'm a little jealous. My Trudy doesn't even react as strongly if she hasn't taken her pill..."  
“It's the time for foxes. And there everything is... stronger... also his scent and the effect it has on me..."  
They both stared at her and then answered in perfect sync.  
"We have no reason to not believe that."  
This in turn made Judy giggle, as the sight was just divine.  
Only a moment later they started to snicker and it turned into laughter that their jaws ached.  
As if the laughter had released her, it was easier for her to act as carefree as always when she was with her family.

So the rest of breakfast was quiet, with insignificant conversations about the latest gossip from Bunnyburrow in exchange for the most interesting news from Zootopia.  
They were so absorbed in their conversations that, when they looked up, they were almost surprised that they were almost alone in the dining room.  
“The next shift should be on shortly. What do you think if we go out on the veranda and continue talking there?"  
"Oh, that sounds wonderful... Oh hhh..."  
Trudy 's paws went to her belly and she leaned forward.  
A painful moan escaped her throat and when she looked up, Judy could see a mixture of pain and pleasure.  
"Seriously?! Don't tell me that it really is right now!"  
"Definitely feels like this... Ahhh..."  
Without thinking about it, she lifted her sister in her arms and ran towards the stairs.  
"James, let mom know. I bring them up to the birth room."  
Without waiting for an answer from her brother-in-law, Judy took two steps at a time.  
With rabbits, the birth can take place within a few minutes, so it was imperative to hurry.

Less than a minute later she was in a room with a large, thickly padded couch that took up a third of the room. On the opposite side there was a wash basin and a wide worktop, on which was everything that a female might need during childbirth.  
Judy had just put her sister on the nest where she rolled onto her side and immediately began to literally tear off her clothes when her mother and her sisters Jeri and Jill entered the room.

Bonnie immediately went to her daughter and felt her stomach before listening to her abdomen with her ear like a stethoscope...  
Meanwhile, Judy and her sisters had washed their paws thoroughly and were waiting for instructions from their mother, who had always been the midwife in the family.  
“It looks good dear. This litter doesn't seem to be in as much of a hurry as your last one."  
Trudy managed a short laugh.  
"Oh yeah. Thanks to Judy, these are not born in the rubber cell. "  
"Well. Jeri, water, paw warmth and a bucket for the rest. Jill, wipes, ten. Judy, come here. You hold her leg and pass the little ones on to their mother."  
Judy took a seat in front of Trudy and took some of the smaller pillows to make her sister as comfortable as possible while her mother washed her paws.  
The first convulsions were evidence of the onset of contractions and Judy grabbed Trudy's leg to keep it from spinning around uncontrollably and injuring someone. It wouldn't be her mother's first black eye and certainly not the last, but that was a risk that was part of the job in her eyes. And although Judy was most likely the strongest in the room, even she had problems holding her sister's leg.  
"OK then. The first is there. Jill, cloth, Jeri, paw here."  
Jill handed her mother one of the towels, barely larger than two paws, after she dipped it in the lukewarm water.  
At the same time, Jeri took the remains of the birth sack and the umbilical cord from her and disposed of them.  
It was actually the first time for Judy that she was there herself at the birth and she could not take her eyes off this little creature, which was carefully wrapped in the damp cloth by her mother.  
"Here Judy."  
This little creature fit loosely into one of her paws and looked so fragile that she hardly dared to move a muscle in her paw while she led it into her sister's arms.  
She took her kit and almost frantically led it to her snout, where she began to clean the exposed head with her tongue.  
Of course, she knew that it was natural and even important for a mother to clean her child in this way and at the same time impress the smell of the other in both of them, but being able to see this indescribably important act with her own eyes triggered this longing inside her.  
After cleaning, she ran her chin over the new life in her paws and laid it down on her breast, where it immediately began to suck on one of the nipples.  
She was only torn from her thoughts when Trudy's labor began again and her leg was almost able to free itself from Judy's grip.  
The whole process was repeated several times, until eight healthy babies were lying on their breasts and were enjoying their mother's first milk.  
Trudy had tears in her eyes and ran her paw over and over the little bodies.

Jeri and Jill left the room, letting James in.  
Although it was already her fifth litter, he felt like every time this indescribable mixture of joy and admiration of his loved one that she had brought this miracle of life into the world.  
Without paying any further attention to the two women at his side, with tears in his eyes he went to his mate in the nest and wordlessly began to rub his muzzle over hers. Trudy returned the gesture again without saying a word, before James slowly and carefully, both with his nose and his chin went about their kits.

Bonnie also had tears in her eyes, like every time one of her children brought new life into the world. The first minutes after the birth always had something magical, when the parents and their kits could really see, smell and feel each other for the first time and all radiated this euphoric warmth...  
It took some effort, but she managed to tear herself away from the sight in front of her and look at her side. Bonnie wanted to know what expression Judy would be showing.  
And Judy was... just... no longer there...  
The mere fact that Judy was no longer at her side was enough to show her only too clearly that something was wrong...

She wasn't in the hallway.  
Nor was she in the hospital room across the corridor with the injured Jack Savage.  
Nor anywhere else in the building, she asked a group that just came up from the lower levels of the burrow.  
They had not seen their sister either.

She remembered that she had seen something in Judy yesterday evening and therefore wanted to take her aside after breakfast. By now Bonnie was sure she had seen pain, but she wasn't sure what caused it.  
Judy never allowed anyone to see her pain. Unless it was a really deep, bloodcurdling pain.  
Just like a few years ago, when Judy was truly broken and she had even given up her dream.  
Bonnie had rarely felt this helpless. The night before her reunion with Gideon, Bonnie had seen Judy on the riverbank and she was rigid with horror when she saw and above all heard Judy cry for the first and only time. This pain and loneliness that she must have felt at that moment to make such noises made her shudder even today...  
>The river...<

Across the fields to the east was a small river that formed the border to the neighboring farmland. On a small pier there is a small pumping station that branched off water for the fields and next to it was a small shed in which various tools and spare parts were stored.  
Between the two there was a space in which one can sit in the shade during the burning sun in summer and was protected from the cold winds of the winter.

Bonnie was standing on a small hill near the river and could see the pier... as well as the figure huddled between the two structures...  
Her heart began to race when she suddenly saw herself in the same place, years earlier, only at night, but otherwise the sight was identical... her daughter's bloodcurdling sounds were identical too...  
She had to go to her daughter immediately. It wasn't missing much and she would have even run on all fours to be with her even faster.  
Judy didn't seem to notice her at all, so she stopped in front of the pier and gave her the opportunity to notice her when she approached her daughter from behind.  
Even when she knelt down, Judy didn't seem to notice her.  
It wasn't until her paw landed on Judy's shoulder that she reacted. She threw herself into her mother's arms, but still let her pain run wild.  
Bonnie stroked her daughter's ears and whispered to her in a calm voice, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Then she began to rock back and forth slightly. If this had any effect, Judy didn't show it.  
In the end she even ran her chin over her head and let her motherly scent speak for itself to appeal to her daughter's instincts and soothe them.  
Contrary to all expectations, this measure even seemed to increase her pain and Bonnie was at a loss as to what to do. So she left it at the petting, whispering and rocking, hoping that Judy would talk to her as soon as she was able.

It took a painfully long time, but finally Judy fell silent in her arms. She looked down at the now motionless rabbit in her mother's arms. After a few moments Bonnie looked up at the sky where the sun had not yet reached its zenith and wondered constantly what might have triggered this reaction. This was a day of joy, not sadness and yet...  
"... It hurts so badly..."  
Bonnie startled, she thought Judy had cried herself to sleep.  
"Tell me... I'm listening to you..."  
A few minutes passed and Bonnie just held Judy and stroked her ears.  
"We were together for about two years when we first talked about it..."  
A tremor went through Judy's body and Bonnie could just feel how much it took Judy to get these memories out.  
"… to start a family…"  
With ears erect, eyes wide, and mouth open, Bonnie stared down at her daughter.  
Since she decided to become a police officer, she had almost never shared the usual interests of her peers. Children fell into that category too, and Judy had never mentioned anything like it to her.  
“… But adoption was not possible because we weren't married. That was one of the reasons for his initiative."  
"But now you are."  
A low whimper sprang from her throat before she spoke again.  
"Now the problem is... something else..."  
Again it was a few minutes before Judy spoke again.  
"Whenever some animal thinks of the ISM, they think of us...  
Whenever an animal leaves its partner to meet someone from another species, they think of... us...  
Whenever such an abandoned animal looks for a culprit, it thinks of... us...  
Whenever such an animal wants to give free rein to its anger... it comes... to us..."  
Bonnie couldn't believe what her daughter was telling her. How could she bear to keep this all to herself?  
“It was quiet for the first month after our wedding. Nobody wanted to be associated with the PBM, but then it started:  
Males, females, old, young, poor, rich...  
Letters that we should be to blame for their suffering...  
Sometimes even someone who tried brute force...  
But we made it through.  
It subsided. There has been no violent assault in months and there are only one or two letters a month...  
However, the authorities see it differently."  
A tremor went through Judy.  
"The danger for a child is too great, so we are denied this opportunity."  
Bonnie felt like she had just lost an entire litter of children.  
"Oh, Judy... is there no other option?"  
To her surprise, a small smile crept onto Judy's muzzle.  
“There is. Nick could get me pregnant."  
Before her mother could reply, Judy continued.  
“But the probability of this is so low that I have six correct numbers in the lottery three times in a row before that... That is the only argument of the opponents of the ISM that we cannot refute. And that hurts."  
“And what about... artificial insemination? With a sperm donation?"  
"... We are... afraid... of the possible consequences..."  
Bonnie was confused now.  
"What do you think? Doesn't the police also have maternity leave and the like?"  
“There is. But it's more the consequences for Nick... The mere thought that I'm carrying someone else's offspring is enough to cause him almost physical pain. There are documented cases where foxes, their companions voluntarily or involuntarily contributed the children of another..."  
Judy tried to find the right words.  
"... changed... against their will... turned away from the female they had loved for years..."  
"By all gods..."  
"Nick has made it clear that this only happens once in a thousand cases and asked me to consider this option, but I've always refused so far."  
Bonnie stared at Judy, forcing herself to extract the following words.  
"So far?!"  
As if that was her cue, the tears burst forth again from Judy and she pressed herself again to her mother.  
"For a... small... tiny... moment... I wished... I... would be in Trudy's place... I would feel MY children on me... And I didn't care... completely ... didn't care... ... who was the father… there... with me..."


	5. Investigations

# Investigations

Waiting.  
A necessary evil, but still he hated it.  
They had no choice but to review all the material that was already available to them until new knowledge would give them new clues.  
What they had so far was more or less what they already knew or at least expected.  
Three teams, three hiding places, different tasks.  
The shelter on Elmstreet was in the immediate vicinity of one of the hubs of the Zootopias telecommunications network, so the computer equipment was not surprising. Since almost all communication took place electronically, a section made up of hackers was a self-evidence.  
There wasn't much to think about the Heat Street. Four extremely attractive females for their respective species could both be a distraction and seduce target animals.  
He wouldn't be surprised to learn that they used the Dominatrix equipment not only for games but also for interrogation.  
It wasn't that obvious with the team in Moss Street, but he already had some ideas about what kind of team he would put together.  
The evidence from the crime scenes were far from being evaluated, but the most obvious questions at the moment were about the explosives and whether there was enough material left of them to obtain usable evidence.  
Chief Bogo had even called in some of the SWAT experts for this, and if they couldn't find anything, they'd have problems.  
Until then, however, they were by no means bored. There were still plenty of witnesses to be heard, video footage to sift through, and evidence to go through.

Shortly before their lunch break, the time had finally come. The explosives experts reported and on the way they met Chief Bogo, who was also called.  
In the laboratory, they met three rats in black uniforms with the words SWAT on their backs and in front of them a rat with gray hair around its nose and a captain's insignia on its shoulders.  
Chief Bogo nodded briefly before turning to Nick.  
"Wilde, Fangmeyer, this is Captain Nimh and his team."  
"Captain Nimh, these are Officer Wilde and Fangmeyer."  
“I am happy to get to know you. I just wish we could have met under better circumstances."  
“So do we."  
Liz stared at the rat in front of her for a moment and spoke up.  
"If you will allow me to ask, how long have you been in the service of Zootopia?"  
“A little over thirty years. Why?"  
"Well... I have to admit that I thought my partner and her mate were the smallest animals in the ZPD."  
A grin formed on his muzzle before he answered.  
“Well, that's true in a way. My comrades and I are 'functionally dependent executive bodies', as the formal formulation goes. Basically, that just means that we are only allowed to work for the city in a certain capacity. In our case, we are predestined to work with explosives because of our sensitive noses and small size. In the area of mine clearance in particular, we were superior to almost every other animal, as we are simply too small and accordingly too light to trigger them. And as in this case, our small size is also an advantage, as even small traces other might overlook are quite big for us."  
"This is impressive."  
“Thank you, Officer Fangmeyer. But now to work. If you would come over here, please."  
Captain Nimh led them to the back of the laboratory, where more rats were working at three tables on the remains of the bombs.  
“I have bad news and less good news.  
The bad news:  
The bombs come from a professional with years of experience.  
The individual components are nothing unusual and can be found in almost every hardware store.  
The explosive is a special mixture which, in connection with the lightweight construction, leaves hardly any forensically usable traces, but nevertheless generates an extraordinarily strong pressure wave that can be fatal even through medium walls. "  
"And what is the less good news?"  
"I know the bomb builder."  
"Perfect! What should be less good about it?"  
"He died around twenty-five years."  
"Are you sure about that?"  
“Yes, Officer Wilde. It was one of the most serious cases, which had to solve the ZPD at that time... and in a few days, it is even the anniversary on which our worst nightmare literally dissolved into air."  
"What do you mean?"  
“He worked for one of the most influential families in the underworld and was supposed to plant a bomb. We wanted to arrest him there. However, we were noticed. An exchange of fire was the result. A projectile hit the explosive device as he ran into the building."  
Nick had to swallow when a name came to mind.  
"And for which family did he work?"  
"For the Big family."  
Nick raised his eyebrows. Something didn't fit. And when he looked up at his superior, he returned his gaze.  
"What was the name of the bomb builder?"  
"Pawel Koslov."  
Nick started to moan and ran his paw over his muzzle.  
"... Hallelujah... Topping that should be difficult..."  
"Officer Wilde?"  
"Let me guess: He was a polar bear?"  
"Yes. Have you heard of him?"  
“Not directly. The name of Mr. Big's right paw and closest confidante is Koslov."  
“Koslov? Ivan Koslov?"  
"Yes. Exactly that."  
“Then we have quite a problem now. It is almost impossible to get to Mr. Big or his close confidante."  
Nick looked up at Chief Bogo and raised an eyebrow. He just snorted and then nodded to him.  
“Getting to Mr. Big and talking to him is not the problem. Convincing him that the animal he trusts most after his own family would be the trick."  
“But that's exactly what it looks like. Koslov was from the old school and followed certain rules. His cubs should be two the few animals that his knowledge is likely to have passed on, according to the traditions."  
"Then there is still the question of the motive."  
"Revenge. It's a classic. And unfortunately still the mainspring of many crimes today."  
“Thanks for your help, Captain."  
With that, Chief Bogo led them out and back into the conference room. There he turned to his two subordinates.  
"What do you think of it?"  
Fangmeyer was the first to speak.  
"That makes no sense. If these animals worked for Mr. Big, why should he kill them with these bombs? Since he always carries him on his paws, he could easily kill him at any time."  
“Oh, that makes perfect sense. How did Captain Nimh say? '... in a few days it will even be the anniversary...'. If for that reason he has chosen this exact day for his revenge, then he must remain the faithful right paw until then. What if Savage and his team found out? In that case he can´t possibly have acted alone. There was too much to do and not enough time. And accomplices are worse in these circles as a sword of Damocles, as there is no worse crime as treason, and they do not have to follow the rules if they want information... There's no lawyer to demand and to mention on his right to pass." 

“We still have to get to the bottom of the matter. Wilde, let Mr. Big know that I want to speak to him. In neutral territory, no weapons and no wiring. You come with me and Koslov should go with him. If it turns out that he is involved, Mr. Big will not be able to act directly. However, if he is not involved, that knowledge remains with us."  
Nick grabbed his phone and went to the back of the room while Chief Bogo turned to Liz.  
“Fangmeyer, you go to the archive and look for the files on the Pawel Koslov case."  
"Understood."  
"Since the case was more than twenty years ago, it shouldn't be in the system yet."  
Liz grimaced... 'Not in the system' meant that she was forced to search the boxes with the files box by box and had to hope that they were actually filed correctly.

Nick came back with his phone to his ear and turned to Chief Bogo.  
"Chief?"  
"Yes, Wilde?"  
"Mr. Big can insert us into his schedule, but only because he knows it's important, but it has to be right away. Otherwise he wouldn't have time for another two days."  
"Well. Where?"  
"Peak Street - Park. North side. Close to the access to the subway station."  
"I agree. We'll be on our way straight away."

The drive to the agreed meeting point went smoothly, but when Chief Bogo went through the possible outcomes of this meeting in his mind, Nick thought more about why he just couldn't get rid of the feeling that he had overlooked an important detail.  
Upon arrival, they left their radios in the car and entered the park. After a few meters, the first bench with the massive figure of Koslov and the significantly smaller shape of Mr. Big in his paws could already be seen.  
About two meters away, Nick stretched out his arm to stop the buffalo by his side.  
Before any words were exchanged, the code had to be followed.  
Nick took a step forward and slowly turned with outstretched arms. Then he took a step to the side.  
Chief Bogo repeated the gesture before Koslov got up, set Mr. Big down on the bench and opened his jacket to reveal the empty holsters.  
Even Mr. Big opened his jacket and then turned with outstretched arms.  
“I am glad that you are familiar with the code, Chief Bogo. It is a shame that such expressions of respect are often alien to today's youth."  
"That's the way it is. Unfortunately, most of them usually confuse respect with fear."  
"As a matter of fact. Nicholas said it was an urgent matter that cannot be postponed?"  
Bogo nodded to Nick and stepped next to Koslov, who was still standing next to the bench. While Nick addressed Mr. Big.  
"I have to ask you first who is privy to the information you have given Judy."  
Nick pointed inconspicuously in the direction of the polar bear.  
"Nicholas, if you want to know if Ivan is in the know, the answer is yes."  
Even if he stayed inconspicuously in the background as always, his gaze now constantly alternated between the bull at his side and the fox at Mr. Big's side.  
"We have received a few minutes before my call disturbing information which concerns you as well as Koslov. Therefore have to immediately ask some questions. Unfortunately we could not use the official lines, because in the worst case someone could find out about it who is not allowed to know."  
"What kind of information?"  
"One of our experts who examined the remains of the bombs knows the bomb builder."  
"And how could that be a problem on our part Nicholas?"  
Nick straightened to his full height and looked in the direction of Koslov.  
"Pawel Koslov."  
"WHAT?!"  
Koslov opened his eyes wide and wanted to take a step forward, but was stopped by the massive figure of Chief Bogo, who at the same time assumed a fighting stance in order to be able to strike at the slightest reaction.  
"My father died almost twenty-five years ago!"  
Chief Bogo now turned to Koslov and made him concentrate on him.  
“Our expert said that too. He also mentioned that he was from the old school, which said that the knowledge about this particular bomb should almost only be passed on to cubs. That is why I ask YOU: Who, besides you, would he have entrusted the secrets of his bombs?"  
Before long, Koslov understood what had to be going on in the cops' minds. And part of him had to admit that under the circumstances he would have drawn the same conclusions.  
They were unpleasant memories, but he had to get them out.  
“In fact, he would never have passed this knowledge on to an outsider. Just me and my sister. She was the more talented of the two of us. "  
"You have a sister?"  
"Had. She died twenty-five years ago. Ivanna was with Beatrice Big when she was kidnapped by the Bellucci-family. A few days later, they found both by accident when the car in which their bodies should be disposed of, was stolen at an ordinary robbery. Both were badly battered and Mr. Big declared an open feud. In the course of this feud, my father asked to be allowed to plant the bomb that was supposed to end this feud himself. The bomb detonation killed my father, but it also wiped out the Bellucci-family, and Mr. Big looked after my mother and me as if we were blood relatives. I could never betray him in this way."  
"But who else knew about these bombs?"  
Koslov dropped to his knees and turned directly to Mr. Big.  
"Sir... I cannot answer that question, but I swear to you in my life that I would never consider betraying you like this."

A moment of silence fell over the group before Nick answered.  
“My gut feeling believes him. However, my head says that it can't be when nobody else really knows about the bombs. So either he's a damn good liar, or there's an animal he doesn't know who knows the secret."  
He let his thoughts sink a little with the others until he expressed an idea.  
"Mr. Big, we have no evidence against Koslov, just a theory. A theory that my gut feeling has been rejected. But it's not a guarantee. Is it possible to keep him safe on your property until we have evidence that speaks for or against him?"  
"Sir, it hurts, but it would be unwise on your part to let me roam free until I'm completely relieved."

Even if they didn't have to, they offered Mr. Big to drive him to his property, where Koslov insisted that Mr. Big not be in the back with him during the drive. Nick carried him in the passenger seat while Chief Bogo drove them.  
There was an indefinable silence in the car, both during the drive to Mr. Big's estate and back to the station.

On the way to the stairs they saw Liz as she ran up the steps from the basement with a small box in her paws.  
She stopped when she saw both her partner and her boss.  
"And?"  
Nick pointed up the stairs with his snout.  
"Up."  
All three entered the meeting room and Nick closed the door before turning to Liz.  
“My gut feeling tells me that it wasn't him, even if nothing can be proven yet. But he has asked Mr. Big to consider him a security risk based on the logical conclusions and to have himself locked in his quarters."  
"So it´s a dead end?"  
"Not quite. He confirmed to us that his father would not pass on his knowledge to any stranger, but there was still a daughter. "  
"Ivanna Koslov?"  
Both looked questioningly at the tigress and she pointed with her paw to the box on the table.  
“During my search for Pawel Koslov's file, I stumbled across this box in which the investigators had packed several case files. Other names that are not entirely unknown, were in it and some notes, where there to unconfirmed rumors going about a family feud."  
"Well done. If you hadn't brought these files with you, you would have been allowed to go to the archives again."  
Liz grimaced at the thought of another search in the archives.  
Chief Bogo turned away, so not too obvious his grin could be seen and opened the door.  
"Keep me up to date."  
"Chief, of course."  
So now that the buffalo had left the room and both knew what was coming: File reading.  
The only bright spot was the early appointment for Freddy's interview with the psychologist, who would hopefully write him back to work soon.

The first thing he noticed was that the pain was bearable. Right after that, his head felt like it was wrapped in cotton wool. Apparently he was on pain medication. Much of his body was also wrapped in bandages. His leg was also fixed with a splint.  
Without moving the muscles in his ears, he concentrated on his surroundings, but his hearing only reacted with a certain delay, so he risked opening one eye a crack.  
He was in a room with multiple beds. Sunlight came in through a window so it wasn't underground. Well, that would make a possible escape easier.  
An above-average wide door. Next to it a wide cupboard and a desk. A figure sat at this.  
He had to open his eye a little wider to see her better, then realized that it was a rabbit.  
Dark gray fur, almost black ears, white fur from her muzzle until it disappeared under her clothes.  
Her body was well trained, but not like a gym, no, more like a life full of physical work.  
> Is the rest of her so good looking too?<  
"Oh. You are awake!"  
It took endless moments until his brain had finally processed that the voice didn't belong to her, but to another rabbit who was now standing in the door with a tray of food in her paws.  
And again his brain registered initially that this doe was as athletic as the other, but her fur was rather gold-brown.  
He hated it when drugs were messing up his thought processes. Even if they might even have been justified.  
The mere fact that he could hardly follow the movements of the two rabbits in the room made him uncomfortable. The discomfort that followed was more of a physical nature, as the light from the flashlight could be described as painful in his eyes.  
"Reactions normal under the circumstances. Maybe another hour, then he should be ready. Do you let them know?"  
"Clear. I'll be right back."

It didn't take long for Jill to reach the kitchen where her mother was waiting for her. She found her again in her office, where she sat across from her sister and despite the invigorating scent of the tea there was a strangely depressed mood in the room.  
Her mother looked up while her sister turned away a little more.  
"Yes?"  
"... He woke up... Maybe another hour, then he should be ready."  
"Thanks. We'll come up then."  
She left the office and returned to her duties.

After a few minutes, the older rabbit spoke to her daughter.  
"How do you feel dear?"  
Instead of directly respond, she stood up and hugged her mother first.  
"... Much better... Thank you."  
"At any time."

The veil around his mind continued to loosen and by now he also knew the names of his two nurses. The memories of the previous day had also returned and the uneasy feeling of already suspecting what had happened... What was most important to him, however, was the return of his hard-earned mental discipline.  
Both does were quite attractive, he had immediately begun to flirt with them. But if he allowed himself to act on his instincts, as he used to, it usually ended up in quite a bit of trouble.  
This was over for the moment, but potential damage had already been done, as at least the one with the golden-brown fur, Jeri, didn't seem averse to the thought. 

The door opened and 2 rabbits came in.  
“Jeri, Jill. Please leave us alone."  
Both looked at each other and nodded before leaving the room and closing the door behind them.  
Jack looked over and saw the younger of the two. Even if many species have a problem distinguishing individual rabbits, it was of course not an obstacle for him.  
After all, she was a rabbit who was known far beyond the borders of Bunnyburrow and after the events of the legalization of the ISM, the eye patch was also a well-known trademark for other species, even if she was not wearing her uniform:  
Judy Wilde.  
He could already identify the room he was in as a hospital room in a familyburrow.  
If this is should be the Hopps-burrow, so the identity of the older doe at her side only to obvious.  
"Mrs. Hopps, Mrs. Wilde."  
"Mr. Savage."

Judy and her mother took the place on the bed next to him and a notepad and pen were in Judy's paws.  
"Before we start, I have a question: Before the train accident, I lost contact with my mammals..."  
Judy had been brought up to date by Nick a few minutes ago.  
“There were three explosions... The rescue workers were only able to recover corpses. I am sorry."  
Jack allowed himself a moment in which he ran his unbandaged paw over his muzzle and took a deep breath.  
“They were good mammals. I've worked with them for years. They were very reliable and trustworthy... And she was..."  
He had to think about the past few years and especially about the snow-white and soft fur of his second in command... How she has counted on him over the last few years, especially during the winter...  
“Even if it hurts, I now need your help. We suspect that the bombers were forced to act because you almost caught them. Were there any animals that you were after?"  
"Mr. Big said you were trustworthy. Does your secrecy also refer to the... dubious... actions of my animals?"  
“They didn't deserve to die, they had their whole life ahead of them. I want those responsible to receive their just punishment. If you want to know if I can ignore a trespass or something like that that you accidentally mention, the answer is yes."  
"… Well. A number of drug laboratories have sprung up like weeds in the past few days..."  
"Moondust."  
"Yes. At the laboratory in the old Smantha's I also got to see the foremammal: a wild boar. They hid the drugs in children's toys in that lab. The measures took place less than an hour later.  
Believe me, no politician addicted to PR can be more against drugs than Mr. Big.  
Smuggling the drug is extremely costly and risky, which is why so far there have only been small amounts on the streets, but if they can successfully establish even one single laboratory, it will be difficult to get rid of it."  
"How did it come that you were on the train to Bunnyburrow?"  
“My second in command had received a tip that a cargo should be hidden at the Bunnyburrow train station and that it should be brought to Zootopia soon. One of the requirements before Mr. Big took action was that I had to see the goods with my own eyes. That's why I took the next train."  
“Why this control? Couldn't he just send his animals out?"  
Jack took a deep breath before continuing.  
“The last time a drug syndicate tried to settle in Zootopia, there were many innocent victims. Even in the Big-family. This is something that no one wishes again. That's why my teams and I work outside of Mr. Big's Syndicate."  
"Do you have any theories of who could be responsible for this drug?"  
“Just a paw full of clues. The laboratories were well equipped. Not simple street material, but the equipment had no serial numbers. So the animal behind it all should be quite wealthy. Night Howler is no longer easy to come by, but there was still plenty, so it has the knowledge to organize big amounts or there was a supply that was already in town. Knowing the exact formula of stardust is something that may not have been developed in a backyard laboratory. Either the campaign has been planned for a long time or someone has invested a hell of a lot of money."  
Judy was constantly taking notes and was already starting to develop scenarios in her head, but none of them were plausible enough for the overall picture...  
"Another question: We know who invented of the bombs that..."  
"Who?"  
"Pawel Koslov."  
Judy could almost hear the rabbit in front of her racking its brains over this detail.  
"That makes no sense. Pawel died many years ago and Ivan is devoted to Mr. Big until death."  
"We are that far. We asked him about it, but he also assured us that his father only passed the knowledge on to his two cubs. And his daughter is dead. So where did the bomber get the bombs from? Any ideas?"  
"Unfortunately not. And even if we would consider that Ivan Koslov would betray Mr. Big, he would never even consider something to do with drugs, because they were responsible for the death of his sister."  
"Can you think of anything else that could help us to catch the perpetrators?"  
"I'm afraid not at the moment."  
Judy sighed before getting up and her mother followed her out into the hall.  
“As long as we don't have any new clues, we're probably done here. I'll let Nick know and update him. You can go."  
Her mother looked at her for a moment before brushing her chin with her paw.  
"I can't get rid of the feeling that you want to ask him more questions afterwards."  
"Hm... there is something I want to ask him, but it has nothing to do with the case."  
"OK."  
With that, her mother turned away and Judy took out her phone.

His mind raced. Some pleasant, others uncomfortable. He had already considered this, otherwise he would have collapsed on the spot, but it still hurt.  
After what felt like an eternity, the door opened again and Judy reentered.  
Jack closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.  
When he opened it again, Judy was sitting on the next bed again.  
"There was no rabbit among the victims."  
"I know."  
“But one of the animals had a special place. I'm right?"  
Contrary to expectations, a small smile crept onto his face.  
"I can imagine that you are one of the last animals that should have a problem with that."  
“This conversation is purely private. Judy is enough. "  
"Jack."  
"Well. So how did you get to know each other? "  
“I had just got the assignment from Mr. Big to track down a robber who was unnecessarily brutal and dared to seriously injure two defenseless children in a robbery. He wasn't a member of the Big Syndicate, of course. He was good, so I needed help. She lived on the streets and has been hustling quite successfully day by day. Her services cost me a nice amount, but the assignment was more important. We found him and Mr. Big took care of him. I have used her services several times later, and Mr. Big was so pleased with our work that he took her on as well. So she first became my partner and later, as the team grew, my right paw."  
Jack took a sip of water from the table by the bed and then spoke again.  
“After three years, it was winter, I ran into her by chance in a bar when a guy wouldn't be satisfied with a 'no'. I... went to her paw and brought her home. Once there, I laid her down on her sofa, but she wouldn't let go of me. She whispered in my ear that it was the season and her teeth ran over my ears..."  
"And?"  
“One thing led to another and… well… that was the best night of my life. The next morning she panicked when she realized what she had done. The traditions were very important to her and a one-night stand was definitely not one of them. The following year, she came straight to me and almost begged me to give her body what it asked for. It was a very... exhausting week..."  
Judy had to smile, she knew this only too well from Nick when it was his time.  
“She later confessed to me that she was still horrified to have gotten involved with me, but she preferred to mate with someone she trusted and had already happened to than taking the risk with a stranger. Two more years later she was so drunk that she suggested that we both stop working for Mr. Big if I managed to get her pregnant. A strange thought, but there was no reason to refuse this request... Even if we weren't in a serious relationship. "  
Jack looked Judy straight in the eye.  
"I don't think I have to explain that to you."  
"Sadly not."  
“Actually, we had planned to move back to one of Mr. Big's vacation homes on the coast. He allows you to use the houses if you need a short break."  
Jack had to blink several times to get rid of the moisture.  
"This drug laboratories… Wouldn´t they have shown up... We would not have been in the city anymore."  
"Something like that I can also say of us..."  
"I thought so."

After a while of minor small talk, Jeri and Jill came back.  
"We thought you were through with the interrogation?"  
“We are too. Just inconsequential entertainment to keep him company. And who knows. Maybe we will stumble over a detail that was completely overlooked before. "  
"Aha…"  
The sisters went about their normal duties while Judy and Jack continued talking.

Even if they always had the most interesting jobs on television, the work of a forensic scientist saw plenty of unsavory parts of life. From vomit to pissed clothing, everything was represented that you didn't necessarily want to see on television.  
His current job wasn't heroic either, but at least sorting out the clothes from the crime scenes was just a relatively minor inconvenience due to the pungent smell of smoke in the clothes. But sorting evidence was part of the job.  
Damon Snow lifted a pair of pants to his nose and sniffed it briefly. He grimaced for a moment.  
"That belongs to the badger."  
His colleague then put the pants on one end of the table on which there was a small sign with the word 'Mossstreet'. There were three signs on it:  
'Badger, male'  
'Wolf, male'  
'Wolf, female'

Damon grabbed more pieces.  
"Wolf.  
Wolf.  
She-wolf.  
Wolf.  
Badger.  
She-wolf.  
Badger.  
Wolf.  
... ... ...  
Jonny?"  
"Yes?"  
"Sniff it."  
He held the skirt out to his colleague, another husky, and the latter sniffed at it.  
His eyes widened when he had processed the smell and looked first at the table with the three piles of clothes and then back at his colleague.  
"I'll let Nick know."

It was late afternoon when Judy's phone rang.  
"Hey Slick, how are you?"  
Judy's expression turned serious.  
"For sure?"  
Her gaze went to Jack.  
"Yes, I'm with him."  
She pressed a button and held the device between her and the rabbit at her side.  
"So. You're on speaker."  
"Savage, I need to know exactly what kind of animals were in your service."  
Jack looked confused but quickly recovered.  
"In the Heat Street I had a female camel, female hippopotamus, female Panda and a tigress. In Elm Street there were two male mice, a female sheep and a lioness. And in Mossstreet I had a badger, two wolves, brother and sister and a vixen."  
There was silence on the line and Judy stared at him with her eyes wide open.  
"… What?"  
“We only recovered eleven bodies. And there was no vixen among them."  
This news opened the gates to entirely new possibilities and conjectures. Both enjoyable and unsettling...  
"We have a new track!"  
Judy looked back at Jack and Jack looked unusually rigid. A thought formed and she turned to Nick.  
“I have to check something. I'll call you right back."  
With that she ended the call before Nick could reply.

All of the details that he mentioned...  
The feeling that he was more like her than she understood...  
All the parallels...  
"The female... the vixen... She was it, right?"  
He just looked into space for a moment before nodding.  
"I've never had a problem accepting the facts, but now... I don't want to accept the obvious..."  
Judy knew that feeling. To this day, the word 'error' jumped straight to her mind about her press conference disaster... Everything was so 'obvious' there too. Even if she had to admit that in most cases the obvious was exactly what it looked like.  
She put her paw on his shoulder.  
“Obviously does not mean proven. We will find her, interrogate her and see what happens. Now we need a name, a precise description and an address."  
Again it took a moment before he sighed and answered her.  
“Skye Winters, arctic vixen. From the ears to the paws snow-white fur and with ice-blue eyes..."  
"Moment."  
Judy called Nick back and, like before, held her phone between them again before Jack continued with various places where she could be found.  
"Hm... I think I know her from before... Is she a gifted mechanic by any chance?"  
"Yes that's her."  
Judy almost regretted it, but she had to ask the question.  
"Is she able to build a... bomb?"  
"... Definitely. She has already built smaller explosive devices for diversion several times. No damage, just a lot of noise and smoke."  
"Moment…"  
Judy's eyes went quickly from side to side as she frantically scoured her mind for something that was important. She just wasn't quite sure what it was. She winced and her ears rose sharply when she suddenly became aware of a detail that she had previously ignored.  
"... Who knew you would be on that train?"  
"Nobody. I didn't have time to speak to anyone after I..."  
Jack winced when he realized what Judy was getting at.  
"... Oh no..."


	6. The search

# The Search

Nick grinned at the thought of how many shady deals he'd made in such a prime example of a 1930s gangster booze. Cigar smoke hung in the air and created a veil of fog that was enough to cover up details of the animals present, but enough to reveal that you could still recognize your contacts. But today he was here on a different mission.  
Behind the bar stood a graying grizzly bear, which was already standing behind the counter when this place was built and which will probably survive the end of the same. He looked down at the fox in civilian clothes.  
"Hey Jimmy, how is business?"  
"Nick Wilde... It's been a few years since you last showed up..."  
"I have a lot to do. You know..."  
"Oh well. When you become a cop, there are certain places where you should not like to be seen. But I heard something ringing..."  
"Hm. When it comes to keeping the past in the past, you're right. And I stand by it too."  
"Well then... what shall it be?"  
"I'm looking for someone."  
The grizzly raised his eyebrow and looked at Nick skeptically.  
"Do not worry. It's not about your moonshine, nor your little black book with illegal bets. I'm looking for this female."  
Nick put the picture of an arctic vixen on the counter for him.  
"Business or private?"  
"Both. Both my boss and the head of a certain well-known family would like to talk to her... Unfortunately, she seems to have disappeared from the earth. Did she show up recently?"  
Jimmy wasn't sure how to judge the situation. Mr. Big had actually spread through his people that Nick Wilde had left his previous life and the knowledge about it behind him. But if he was looking for someone for Mr. Big, that didn't quite fit.  
"How come you are looking for her for both sides?"  
"Well, we've been asked to investigate a matter and she is a promising witness."  
"You know that I don't... like... when I'm being hustled?"  
"Naturally. I assume that as soon as I get out the door, you will check everything I have said by your friends in the area. If anything should develop about this lady... here is my card."  
With that he packed his business card and a few bills with the picture and left the bar with one paw in his pocket.

Once outside, he went straight to an inconspicuous car and got in.  
There were two other figures in the car. Liz was behind the wheel and Freddy had made himself comfortable in the back seat, who was happy about the outcome of his conversation with the psychologist the day before.  
"And?"  
Nick took a list of addresses and ticked off the last one.  
"He will check out about me and only then let someone look for her."  
“We have now checked out all the places where she usually stays. We're running out of hiding spots."  
"Know you that feeling when you know that you have something right under your nose, but you don´t recognize it?"  
"Yes. But it's not like we are fishing in murky waters. We now know who we´re looking for."  
Nick opened his eyes and hit his forehead with his paw.  
"Liz, we have to go back to the station."  
She started the engine and drove off.  
"What did you think of?"  
“You just said yourself, 'We now know who we're looking for.' We have to look again at the morning's traffic camera recordings."

It wouldn´t be long until dusk, but for the three animals in one of the rooms in the basement of the district this was irrelevant, since the room had no window, but he was full of monitors and they showed pictures from a street in the rainforest district that had been shaken by an explosion just a few days earlier.  
"Here."  
Nick leaned back and inhaled the aroma of the strong coffee before accepting the filled cup.  
"Thanks Liz."  
"Where are we now?"  
“As early as the morning of the day before the explosion. Nothing special so far.  
Three pizza deliveries, one chinese and indian delivery each.  
Two followers of this doomsday cult that is so fashionable right now.  
They even had, like so many others too, their carpet picked up and switched for the spring-cleaning... The company surely is happy to keep the deposit."  
Nick couldn't hold back and had to announce the most amusing discovery.  
“Oh, and what we mustn't forget: a total of eight animals have relieved themselves on the corner of the house.  
I'll guess they're from the bar next door. They should charge a fee for it."  
Nick and Freddy laughed about it, but Liz only grimaced.  
After they had calmed down, Freddy continued.  
“A paw full of letters and advertisements, nothing where a bomb could be in.  
But not the slightest bit about our suspect. It's almost as if she wasn't there at all..."

"I'll be right back."  
Thus Nick jumped up and let both Freddy and Liz behind him in the room while they just looked confused after him.  
A short time later he came back with the file of the explosion in Moss Street and took out some inventory lists and a floor plan of the building. He put it on the table.  
Both looked still confused because they still hadn´t any clue what Nick was looking for.  
Nick started going through the file and started making notes on the plan.  
In the bedrooms he put in which animal had which room and went back to the keyboard.  
There he changed cameras several times while he kept looking at the map.  
"If I'm right, then..."  
Nick stopped when he could see a narrow alley from one of the cameras on a side street.  
Then he ran the recording in fast motion.  
After a few minutes he stopped the tape and a slim figure slipped into this alley.  
"Old habits are hard to break…"  
"How did you know where to look?"  
“She had the only room with the window facing a beautiful brick wall. That was once my favorite way to enter my… shelter. Nobody pays attention to an animal that goes into an alley, so nobody thought of where to spend the night."  
"Why should you want to hide this?"  
“Well, besides the obvious reason that nobody should know where I live in case I get into 'misunderstandings' with the wrong animals, there was also the classic hatred. Quite a few foxes have found that their apartment caught fire in an 'unfortunate accident' and that they should better look for another place... There were even 'accidents' in which they were still in their apartment..."  
Liz and Freddy felt guilty because they formerly belonged entirely of this type. 'Accidents' had happened, but before they knew Nick, they thought, like so many others as well, that the foxes were the true victims.  
"I am sorry."  
"Me too. It's hard to believe how terrible we actually used to be without even realizing it..."  
“That's just how it was… in some places it still is. But it's getting better. Precinct 1 no longer takes this for granted. And the other areas are getting better too... All thanks to a far too idealistic rabbit who converted a fox..."  
At his last words a dreamy smile formed on his muzzle and his gaze wandered to the ring on his paw.  
Even his two colleagues had to smile at the thought.

"You know what? You should get on your way slowly. After all, your families want something from you too."  
"And what will you do?"  
"I'll have a look at a couple of the surveillance tapes and then retire as well."  
"Are you going to do that TODAY?"  
Liz looked over at Freddy questioningly.  
"As I know him he will go through the night and if we are lucky he will allow himself to doze for another hour tomorrow morning."  
“Oh come on Freddy. You know the alternative."  
"Oh yeah. Only a certain rabbit is usually responsible for your lack of sleep. And I'm talking about the pleasant way."  
Nick looked at Freddy and Freddy started to grin.  
"How about if someone tried to keep you away from her?"  
“The warehouse at that time would be a sweet and harmless children's show compared to this animal. I would rip Judy's clothes off and then..."  
A tremor went through the fox and the other two had to try hard not to twist their snouts when the pheromones got into their noses.  
"Freddy. I hate you."  
"I know."  
With that, Freddy stood up, patted his partner on the shoulder and led Liz out of the room.  
"That was pretty mean."  
“I can assure you: I did not do this with bad intentions. So he will have difficulty concentrating and may actually lie down..."  
The wolf at her side was silent for a moment and tried to suppress a grin.  
"OK, OK... A nice addition is that I can't stir him up like that at any other time. And he never holds back when it comes to me..."  
Liz preferred to remain silent on the subject... It was exactly the same with them when they were still partners.

Freddy's plan worked and Nick went back to ‘the room’ quite early.  
But as hard as he tried, he couldn't even doze off.  
The morning would soon be dawn and he knew that Judy would already be awake.  
Slight consolation was better than none, so he dared to call Judy to at least see her and hear her voice.  
"Hey Nick, how are you?"  
"Bad. I can't sleep if you are not with me, I can almost only think about what I want to do with you when you are with me again and Freddy was so mean and rubbed my nose that you weren't there."  
"You did that one year when Lea had to take care of her mother."  
"Yes, but it was less than 226 kilometers away."  
Judy had to agree, but she couldn't help but chuckle before her snout showed concern.  
"Nick... There are a few things I haven't told you yet..."  
"Judy?"  
"When Trudy gave birth to her litter... I... I was with her when she went into labor..."  
Nick could see tears pooling in her eyes.  
"... I brought her up... Mom, Jeri and Jill joined us... I helped with the birth myself..."  
The burning desire of the last few days suddenly disappeared, but he would have preferred this every time to the pain his wife felt.  
"Mom took them and I passed each one to Trudy...  
Felt their warmth...  
Smelled their scent...  
This longing has never been so strong..."  
"Judy..."  
"When James joined her in the nest... It was too much. I ran away and broke down."  
Nick had to blink, but his own tears clouded his eyes.  
"Mom found me and I... told her..."  
"Did it make you feel better?"  
"A little... But I always had to think about it... What could have been..."  
It was painful, but still the idea of having a family with Judy sprang into his mind.  
"I even had to think about what it could have looked like with Jack and Skye Winters last night."  
"What do you mean?"  
“When he told me about them. The first night and how horrified she was to have sex with someone who was not her mate."  
Nick pricked up his ears because that was a detail that hadn't been discussed before.  
"Wait... she was horrified?"  
"Yes. The traditions were very important to her. But then she probably had a dropout. Probably because of the alcohol she had previously drunk."  
It didn't fit.  
"Are you anywhere near Savage right now?"  
"Moment."  
Nick could hear her climb some corridors and steps before knocking on a door.  
"Good morning Judy."  
"Good Morning."  
“Hi, Jeri. Hi jack. I have Nick here and he has a few questions for you."

"Savage."  
“I now need a few clear and, above all, honest answers. Some of the things Judy just mentioned."  
Nick's tone of voice was strange. Judy had never heard anything like that and wasn't sure what would happen now."  
"OK."  
"That wasn't a serious relationship between you and Winters, right?"  
"Yes."  
"Traditions were very important to her, right?"  
"Yes."  
"She was with you every winter in the following years?"  
"Yes."  
"Has she ever indicated a future in any way that goes beyond what means being available during the mating season?"  
Jack had to think for a moment, but something immediately occurred to Judy.  
"Like their pact?"  
"What pact?"  
"Only a silly idea, when she was drunk."  
“Savage! What pact?"  
"She... suggested that we stop working for Mr. Big if..."  
"If what?"  
"If I should manage to get her pregnant."

The line remained silent and he already thought that his interlocutor had satisfied his curiosity.  
But what then came he never expected.  
"You wretched, pathetic pile of scum!"  
Judy's phone flew across the room and everyone present had quite a pain in their ears. Even when the phone was in the corner, her ears ached and they turned red when Nick cursed like they have never heard an animal curse before.  
Especially when Nick got to the point where he wanted to carve Jack slowly and painfully, it was clear to everyone that Nick was more than angry.  
"Nick... Nick... NICK!"  
He paused his hate triad when Judy yelled into her phone.  
“Nick, calm down. Now slowly... What's the matter with you?"  
Both rabbits in the room watched Judy as her expression changed from confused to horrified and then to pissed off... extremely pissed off as she turned her gaze on Jack.  
He sensed that something he had done had triggered this reaction.  
So he immediately began to look at the escape routes. He was glad that he did everything in his power in the past few days to get fit again. With a little luck he could make it out of the window before she attacked him...  
"OK. I'll call you right back."

Jack had once seen a film in which a virus caused all predators in the world to revert to their former behavior. There it was about a group of prey animals that was constantly on the run to escape the monsters that were mindlessly behind all prey animals to eat them...  
He was proud of the fact that he was sure to keep a cool head even in such a situation, but considering the look Judy was giving him, he would rather be in this movie.

Judy stepped to the bed and he had to swallow.  
"Well... The first time was a one-night-stand under the influence of alcohol. Such... accidents... can happen and do not necessarily mean something. Even with animals for whom traditions are important."  
Jack nodded carefully.  
“When she came to you the year after, did you ask her if it meant more to her? What exactly it meant in terms of the traditions for foxes?"  
"... um... n... no..."  
The fire in her eye was strong enough that even the devil would have wedged his tail between his legs and run away.  
"... Have you ever spoken to her about your pact again?"  
Jack didn't know if it was good for his health to say something, so he just shook his head carefully.  
Judy then bared her teeth and if Jack hadn't had white fur anyway, he would have it now.  
"When she offered you the pact... When she asked you to impregnate her... no matter how likely it might sound... She did kind of propose to you in a way that went WAY beyond a marriage proposal in importance..."  
Judy grabbed him by the collar with both paws and pulled him in front of her muzzle.  
"AND YOU ACCEPTED IT!!!"  
He feared his heart would stop while Judy continued her rage-outbreak and tried to regain her composure.  
“There are two types of foxes. Some completely ignore the traditions. All means are right for them to get whatever they want. THAT are the dangerous ones.  
The others take the traditions very seriously. Even if accidents can happen. If Skye was one of them, then she was always loyal to you and COULD not betray you at all!"  
Judy let go of him and tugged on her ears.  
"Do you have any idea what you did to her when you called your relationship 'nothing serious'?!"  
She let go of her ears and instead put her phone to them.  
"Nick. You were absolutely right. This pathetic cretin really had no idea what he..."  
The damn loud slamming of the door ended Jack's ability to continue listening to the conversation.  
His gaze went to the only remaining company in the room and wasn't really surprised to see Jeri holding her own phone in her paws and pointing the camera in his direction.  
Her grin made it all too clear that if gossip was a currency, she would have become one of the richest animals in town with this one.

Bonnie was where she was every morning: In the kitchen.  
"Mom..."  
She looked up and saw three of her kits with a frightened expression on the snouts standing before her.  
"What's going on?"  
"Judy just ran out... and she looked like everyone should be scared of her."  
"Where exactly?"  
"I believe to the barn."  
"Billy, you have the kitchen."  
"Understood, mom."  
With that she wiped her paws and went to the barn.  
There she met a not completely unknown picture:  
One of her children who wanted to get rid of excess energy by chopping wood or simply to vent their feelings.  
With Judy, however, the former was usually the case. This icy mood and the tense murmuring that emanated from her were quite unusual.  
During the blows, the logs flew to the sides and she was worried if the splitting block would withstand her blows for a long time.  
"Judy?"  
She looked at her mother and she was glad to see no tears there. She couldn´t say she preferred that kind of anger.  
"Have you ever had a situation..."  
Judy split another log.  
"... where someone said something..."  
The next log fell victim to her blow.  
"... what made you so angry..."  
Bonnie had to get away from the next log.  
"... that you would wish for..."  
The axe split the next log.  
"... HIS skull would be here?"  
And Stu was allowed to take care of a new splitting block...

Although he loved pretty much everything and mock everyone and gave the impression that he couldn´t take anything seriously, Chief Bogo knew better.  
Nick Wilde took his duties very seriously, even considering the current circumstances.  
His absence from the morning meeting was a cause for concern.  
It wasn't difficult to track him down, he was in one of the training rooms he passed on the way to Nick's temporary quarters.  
As a fox, like Judy, he was less dependent on brute strength than on his speed and the ability to direct the strengths of his opponents against them.  
Still, he was glad Nick picked up a sandbag when he went after the volume of the beating.  
As he got closer he saw the look in Nick's eyes too and that was unsettling.  
"Wilde?"  
In the middle of the blow the fox froze in front of him and it took a few deep breaths before he turned to his superior.  
"Chief? What gives me the honor?"  
“You are usually present for the morning meeting. Even if you have repeatedly brought up that in your eyes it is not always necessary."  
Nick knitted his eyebrows, then looked at the clock on the wall.  
“I'm… sorry, Chief. I guess I forgot the time. "  
“It is obvious. What was the occasion? "  
"This... Savage..."  
Nick bared his teeth at the name alone and gave the sandbag behind him a quick punch and kick combination before he could continue.  
"As I had to learn this morning, the relationship between him and... Winters was more serious than he had considered it..."  
Nick took several deep breaths.  
“She can't be the leak. She is a victim."  
"It happens again and again that investigations suffer setbacks."  
“If it were just that, I wouldn't care.  
She chose him... She offered him a... pact. If he should be successful impregnate her, then they would both stop working for Mr. Big. He 'of course' agreed without thinking about it, as it is next to impossible anyway."  
He clenched his paws into fists and bared his teeth again.  
“He didn't care what it meant for a vixen to make such an offer to another. It doesn't matter whether it is likely or not.  
She is fully committed to him!  
And I'm not sure which is worse: Daily extreme, open hatred from strangers like in the past, or such ignorant indifference from a close animal..."  
Nick stared at the sandbag again.  
“It's good he's in Bunnyburrow. Otherwise you would have to arrest me now."  
Chief Bogo had to admit to himself that he hadn´t thought about the topic of loyalty for foxes in general since the events of three years ago. Only the deep connection between the fox in front of him and his mate. Was that the rule or was it the exception? However, if he took this as a yardstick, he would have to admit that such an outbreak should be perfectly understandable, given the circumstances.

"NICK!"  
Freddy came running down the corridor and stopped when he saw his partner in the training room.  
"Chief? Am I disturbing?"  
"No. What do you have?"  
“An old bear named Jimmy called. We may have a lead."  
Chief Bogo looked at Nick and just nodded toward the door.

In her room Liz already waited for the two and pawed him a note.  
On it was the message that on the day of the explosion Skye had hastily followed a wild boar, which, strangely enough, only appeared in his bar when Skye was with there.  
"What do you think about?"  
“We can reject our theory of her as a leak. I talked to Carrots this morning and it turned out that she couldn't give him away."  
"What makes you think that?"  
"Later. We have to go through it all over again. She's not the culprit, but still the key... key... wait."  
A few minutes later he had the file in his paws and flipped through the crime scene pictures before holding one up. It showed the remains of a burned room. Bed, wardrobe, table and chair, of course in a correspondingly desolate condition...  
There was a window at the back, the glass of which had broken out in the explosion.  
Two thin chains hung from the window handle.  
"She didn't leave the building like this..."  
"Huh?"  
Nick pointed to the chains.  
“I told you she didn't use the front door. Since windows are not intended for that, you have to improvise. Here we have the two straps that serve as a lock: when you leave the building, a strap comes down and when you pull, the window is locked. The top chain opens the window upon return. The chainss are both inside, so she didn't leave the building that way. "  
“But we've looked at the surveillance tapes countless times. She has not left the building."  
"As Liz said, now we know what we're looking for."  
Nick went to the case board and particularly looked at a timeline in which all of the surveillance cameras' observations were drawn. One entry caught his eye right now.  
"Come with me."  
With that he led them into the basement into the traffic control room.  
He fast-forwarded the footage until you could see an arctic fox entering the alley behind the house.  
“Here she arrives. And here we have the front of the building."  
Nick ran the recording and in less than ten minutes a van pulled up. Two wild boars got out of this, went to the back and took out a large carpet.  
The one in front rang the bell and then seemed to be leaning against the door because of his heavy load. When it was opened it looked like he would just stumble, but now he could interpret it differently.  
A good twenty minutes later the wild boars came out again, carrying a carpet with them again.  
Nick stopped the recording and pointed at the boars' snouts.  
"Do you notice something?"  
"They are carrying a heavy carpet?"  
He paused the recording on one of the neighboring monitors as they carried the carpet inside.  
"And here?"  
They looked at the pictures and Liz noticed it first.  
"There they don't twist any muscles and there it almost seems as if it is too heavy for them..."  
"I agree. And the carpet is still rolled up... I bet it's in there. Mostly unconscious, as a twitching and screaming carpet could certainly attract attention. "  
"Then let's see where they went with her."  
Tracking a vehicle was easy when you knew how.  
The van drove through some side streets and never stayed long on the main streets.  
Then they drove through a tunnel to Tundratown and on the other side... didn´t come out again...  
"I hate déjà-vus..."  
A screen now showed the entrance to the maintenance tunnel 6B.  
And that's exactly where the van turned off.  
Nick switched to cameras a few more times, which the transporter passed a short time later.  
"Do you know where they want to go?"  
"Oh yeah. But I promise you one thing: If Gary is standing guard at the gate again, then I'll scream!"


	7. The Rescue

# The Rescue

"I agree."  
Chief Bogo picked up the receiver and pressed a button.  
"Clawhauser. Contact Snarlov and Grizzoli. They shall take position and wait at the entrance to the Cliffside facility and keep an eye on the situation. Nothing definite, but expect the worst. Full gear, fire clearance in an emergency."  
After his superior had hung up, Nick spoke up again.  
"Chief, there is one more thing."  
"And what would it be?"  
“We don't know what they did to Winters, but since they didn't kill her like the rest of Savage's animals, I think they have plans to do with her. I'm tapping on information. She has been hold captive for a full three days.  
In my opinion there are three options:  
If she gave them what they wanted, then she should be dead by now.  
If she has kept everything to herself, then she is either dead because they have realized that it will not do anything or rather badly beaten up in the hope of getting something from her. Whatever they want from her.  
If she gave them just a little to keep herself of value, then they might have messed her up to get everything.  
She probably won't trust anyone she doesn't know. In such a situation she could distrust even most of the people she knows..."  
"What's your point?"  
“Jack Savage. He should be one of the few, if not the only animal that she would trust at the moment."  
"You already realize that we are taking a risk if we bring him back to town now?"  
“I believe she is the key to this case. And if I'm right, Savage is the only one who can get through to her."  
"Am I correct in assuming you already have a plan, should I agree?"  
“In fact, I was free to think of a few scenarios depending on what Snarlov and Grizzoli would find. But in all of them, Savage's quick questioning of Winters is one of the key points."  
Chief Bogo looked at the fox in front of him for a while before he took out his key ring and opened one of the locked drawers. Inside was a lock box from which he took out a small black and a red notebook. He leafed through the black for a moment until he obviously found what he was looking for.  
Then he took a note and wrote down an address and some numbers.  
Finally he wrote something in the red notebook and locked everything again except for the note. He handed it to Nick.  
“She shall take him to this address. It's a safe, short-term shelter in Tundratown near the entrance to the Cliffside Asylum, where it's safe until we need him."  
"Understood."  
“And now let's go. OPC. In 30 minutes."

After Nick left the office, he let Judy know and was glad to hear that really no member of her family was present when the train accident victims were announced.  
He also brought Judy up to date with the current state of planning and, like everything else, is based on the observations of her colleagues.  
Shortly afterwards he entered the room in which Chief Bogo and representatives from SWAT, as well as animals that had studied the construction plans of the institution, were waiting with some of his colleagues.  
In the middle of the room there was a large map table with plans of the institution, while in the far corner Clawhauser is in charge of radio communications on a large system.  
“Chief, I've got Snarlov. They are now on site."  
"On the speakers."  
A faint crack went through the room as the speakers were turned on.  
"Snarlov , what is the situation?"  
“Busy Chief. A horde of wild boars as guards. Four on this side of the bridge at the barrier, two teams of two patrols along the bridge and at least four more teams on the main building. Rifles, I can't see it exactly at this distance, if I had to guess I'd bet on assault rifles like the military. They're wrapped up thickly. I have no idea whether they are just cold or whether it is bulletproof vests. Various sandbag barriers. At the end of the bridge there is something like a machine gun nest or something."  
Not only Chief Bogo got a shiver down his spine. That looked bad.  
Nick spoke up to his colleague.  
"Hey, little one. Can you make a clip of the guards and send over him to us? If possible, please for more than ten seconds."  
"Chief?"  
"Do it Snarlov."  
A few minutes passed and Chief Bogo's service phone reported the arrival of a message.  
He passed it on to Clawhauser.  
"On the screen with it."  
A large screen on the wall came to life, showing the Cliffside Institution and its approach road.  
At first glance, they were wild boars that simply looked around at irregular intervals while holding weapons in their hooves.  
"Oh oh…"  
"Wilde?"  
"Moment. Spots, all over again. Show the time."  
With that he grabbed a notepad and a pen. While the video ran again and everything looked the same as before, she was busy making notes.  
"Chief... Our problem has just reached new dimensions..."  
"And which?"  
Nick held out the note on which there were now several times. And four of those times were almost identical.  
“They aren't stupid street thugs. That marching in step these animals use is no show. They always needed exactly the same time for the route, almost to the second...  
The viewing areas overlap most of the time and make it difficult or impossible to turn off the guards individually.  
This is military drill. With the barricades almost every vehicle is stopped or at least slowed down considerably. Maybe military equipment... So we have to assume that the rest of them will also follow this pattern.  
I therefore fear that there is no machine gun at the end of the bridge in this position, but rather heavy weapons. On this route, even the armored SWAT transporters would be suicide. "  
One of the SWAT captains, a wild boar, stepped forward and addressed Chief Bogo directly.  
“Sir, that's pretty much what he's putting into this short video. My animals have trained to exhaustion for half their lives and are quite capable of dealing with sticky situations!"  
“Under other circumstances I would agree with you, but I have already learned the hard way that he can read animals much better than a whole department of profilers. In this regard, I take his assessment of the situation extremely seriously."  
"So the usual approaches fall out?"  
"Wilde?"  
"... ... ... ..."  
Chief Bogo could almost hear the rattling in the fox's head and, like every time, a strange mixture of bad premonition about the crazy plans that could spring from this head and hope because they usually actually worked...  
Nick's gaze fixed on the boar next to his superior and a big grin showed his teeth.  
"Captain... How convincing can your animals actually be?"  
"Uh..."

Several hours later, everyone was at a mobile command post near the Cliffside establishment.  
The final details had been gone through and all units were in position.  
Night had fallen and the full moon bathed the entire scene in a ghostly light.  
Freddy and Liz faced Judy and Nick. All in heavy body armor, which should even withstand the deadly weapons of their opponents, but all eyes were only on the fox in their midst.  
“Just out of curiosity, Nick… What in God's name did you smoke?! This plan is insane even by your standards!"  
“You know as well as I do that the alternatives mean losing half or more of our animals. And the two of us are the only animals that can carry out this mission. Even if I would prefer Judy not to accompany me."  
Nobody dared to contradict him. In part it might have been because he called Judy by her name and was serious about it.  
A silent vibration of their ear pieces made them forget all replies and they listened to the following announcement.  
"The operation will start in ten minutes."  
So the hot phase began shortly.

Judy and Nick lay in wait, watching the guards on the bridge.  
Their earpieces vibrated and Chief Bogo could be heard.  
"Operation start in 3... 2... 1... NOW!"  
If one of the other guards noticed this action, all hell would break loose.  
The radio traffic had not yet completely ceased when stunning bullets were already flying into the necks of the wild boars near the guard houses on this side of the bridge and at the same time four more jumped out to take over their positions. It was all happening so quickly, if they had blinked they might even have missed it.  
The moon was both a blessing and a curse, its light allowing quite a good view, but yet dark enough to make details like their snouts to the others unrecognizable...  
Three minutes long was a tense silence.  
No alarm was triggered.

The first miracle had happened... countless more were ahead.  
Every single step could only be taken on the instructions of the observer, as soon as the guards on the bridge did not have their eyes in the direction of the barrier. At least the moment behind the sentry box was more relaxing than the last time they were there. Unfortunately, that was the only moment they could say so.

Another sticking point that could doom the entire operation to failure now followed:  
Both had to overcome a distance of three meters without making a sound, leaving any traces or being seen by any of the guards.  
The track itself wasn't the problem, neither was their pace or ability to move silently. However, on both sides of the paved road was only bare earth. It could be a coincidence, but if it was intended to detect intruders like her, they would not be allowed to take this route. The road even less.  
So there was only one possibility...  
"Ready?"  
"Yes."  
Nick stepped back as far as the cover of the little sentry box would allow and went on all fours. Judy went to him and climbed onto his back.  
"Only the reins are missing."  
"Don't give me tempting ideas."  
Nick took a few steps to get a feel for his new center of gravity while waiting for the signal from the observer.  
"Wildes, get ready."  
Nick aligned himself with the edge of the building and crouched down a little.  
Meanwhile Judy answered.  
"Ready."  
"5... 4... 3..."  
Nick's muscles tensed and Judy tightened her grip.  
"2..."  
Nick stormed off as if tax investigators were after him.  
"1…"  
He passed the sentry box.  
"Now!"  
And jumped.

One of the SWAT boars that had taken on the role of one of the guards would never forget the sight.  
The moon was reflected in the water and his point of view let fox and his rider slide right through it.  
Judy bent forward and her paws on the fox's neck. Nick was stretched out and his paws pointed straight forward.

It was only a fraction of a second, but it absolutely shouldn't have taken longer, for he was beginning to think that one of the guards had seen this spectacle as much as it seemed to him as if a guard had been looking longer in the same direction as himself.  
However, all hell did not break loose, so hopefully he had actually just imagined it.

Judy and Nick pressed against the foot of the bridge, just out of sight of the guards, and didn't move a muscle.  
They took deep breaths and tried to get their racing hearts under control, while despite the thundering waterfall they dared not utter a sound.  
After what feels like an eternity, the observer reported.  
"Wildes. You were not discovered. Repeat: You were not discovered."  
Nick touched a contact on his radio, which produced a soundless confirmation.  
> I'm getting too old for shit like that.<

Now came a relatively easy part. Nick helped Judy on the substructure of the bridge, which carried the supply lines of the institution, and the waterfall drowned out the noises they made as they slowly groped their way.  
Beyond the bridge a water pipe went into the foundation of the institution and they already knew what to expect there.  
Nick took his paw to the radio and pressed the button while looking at the watch on his wrist.  
“Wild here. Have achieved our goal. Are exactly on schedule."  
"Understood. Good luck, Wildes."  
"Thanks."  
>We will so need it.<

They opened an inconspicuous maintenance hatch on the pipe and climbed inside.  
After a few minutes they reached their destination: a small gully in one of the storage rooms  
"Memories are awakened."  
She was about to open it when she felt his paw on her shoulder.  
"I still have to get rid of something."  
Judy looked at him questioningly.  
"I'm not going to leave the building through a toilet this time!"  
"I do not promise anything."  
Despite the circumstances, Nick couldn't help but grin.  
"Show time."

Nick climbed up first and secured the room with no light source as he didn't need it thanks to his natural night vision.  
"Clear."  
Nick led her to the door, where she pressed her ear to it and listened carefully.  
It only took a few seconds before she relaxed a little and opened the door. Both knew that they would find an examination room behind it. The cell block was also only too familiar to them. And to her relief, both were empty.  
The floor still bore the scratches of the animals that were once imprisoned here and gave this place exactly the atmosphere for which such institutions were always feared.  
At the next door, Judy repeated her eavesdropping before venturing out into the corridor.  
The corridor stretched on either side and was brightly lit. On the sides there were two opposite doors at regular intervals, which led to identical long corridors with cells and an examination room, so they limited themselves to Judy listening at the doors to see if there were animals in them while Nick would secure them.

"You already realize that it is crazy to want to do this without reinforcements?"  
“Well you know me. Nothing ventured nothing gained."  
Judy just rolled her eyes and ran a paw over her muzzle.  
"Why do I ask so stupidly?"  
They had just got to their third door when Nick saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye and threw Judy to the ground. Just before a bullet dented the door... exactly where her head had been just moments before...  
"Damn!"  
Nick threw Judy over his shoulder and ran down the hall until he came to a junction.  
"Right!"  
Without batting an eyelid, he followed Judy's command and turned into another wing, which was paved with an open plan office with countless cubicles on all sides.  
They ran down the corridor, turned into one of the offices, and took cover behind one of the massive filing cabinets.  
"We should be safe here for a while."  
Judy raised her paw, silencing Nick when she heard footsteps. Quick steps.  
Both of them pressed against the filing cabinet and waited.  
The animals stopped and one began to speak.  
"Come out with your paws up or we'll shoot."  
Nobody moved a muscle and that was answer enough for them.  
"Fire!"  
Several volleys of rifle fire struck the closet and luckily it was sturdy enough that the bullets couldn't penetrate it.  
"This is the final warning!"  
Nick looked at Judy and she understood.  
"You won't shoot?"  
"No."  
"Well."  
With that, Nick pushed himself around the corner of the filing cabinet so that only his outstretched arm with his weapon peeked out and a little lower Judy took an identical pose and both fired two tranquilizer darts at the animals in front of them. But despite the four hits, two wild boars were still standing and opened fire again.  
They got to cover just in time, but this trick wouldn't work a second time.  
Judy had an idea and whispered it in Nick's ear.  
Then she climbed on his head and only had to straighten up to be able to surprise her opponents with the unexpected position and to turn them off.  
But before she could straighten up, the bullets flew over her head and almost caught her.  
Nick then took a firm footing, gathered his paws and motioned Judy to get in.  
After that, Nick flexed his muscles a little and rocked her paws a little to gently lift her.  
Judy just nodded to him and took her own weapon in both paws before Nick leaned forward to throw her powerfully.  
Nick released the tension in his muscles like a spring and, as expected, the boars opened fire. Nick let his left leg sag, causing Judy to fly away at a different angle and almost straight out to the side of the filing cabinet.  
The animals hadn't expected this and she was able to turn them off before they could correct their direction of fire.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Yes, Nick. But how is it that they apparently knew where I wanted to come out?"  
The fox in front of her looked around for a moment and widened his eyes when he saw what he had expected.  
"Cameras."  
He pointed to a box that hung in the corner of the room and had a clear view of her hiding place.  
"There is only one solution."  
Judy reached under her vest and took out another weapon.  
She pointed it at the camera and pulled the trigger.  
Only this weapon did not fire tranquilizer darts, but lethal projectiles. This was also equipped with a silencer, so that when the trigger was pulled only a muffled 'plob' could be heard.  
But it was rattling when the parts of the camera fell on the floor all the louder.

Far away from the action, a wild boar in a suit, surrounded by monitors, couldn't help but grin.  
"I would not have expected this. They're even better than their files suggest. Switch back to the corridor."  
Without a word, the technician at his side switched the monitor to a picture from a camera in a long corridor.  
They made their way back to the corridor they had come through, but before entering it Judy spoke to Nick.  
"OK good luck."  
"You too."  
With that, they ran as fast as they could in separate directions in the corridor, firing at every camera they could see.  
They knew that they didn't have much time to figure out their plan, but that time had to be used...

"Hm. Not that stupid at all. They hope that we lose our bearings when they shoot the cameras."  
Two more wild boars in uniform and with rifles in their hooves stepped forward.  
"Sir. Your orders?"  
A schematic representation of the building with green and red dots appeared on another monitor.  
Several green lights turned red in quick succession when the cameras failed.  
“Position your animals here, here, here and here. They will try to shoot their way through so that they can make their way here. Give them a warm welcome. Should it arise I would prefer for them to be alive, but do what is necessary."  
"Got it sir!"  
The boars saluted and left, already being in radio contact with their animals and giving the appropriate commands.  
It took a minute, he was able to see on one of the monitors as six boars took cover behind an overturned table in position while the red lights getting further in that direction.  
There were three cameras left before the ambush.  
Two more…  
He held his breath.  
Would she make it easy for him and storm into the line of fire, or would she live up to her reputation and escape the trap?  
Just one more camera.  
A shadow stormed around the corner and the mercenaries opened fire.  
The object was riddled with holes and crippled in a matter of seconds before... the image failed.  
"What?! Report! What's going on?"  
Two more cameras beyond the ambush failed.  
"Sir! It was a trick! Only one office chair came down the aisle. She used the momentum of her speed and almost ran along the wall before jumping over us. We have lost three animals. Tranquilizer darts. She escaped."  
A strange mixture of emotions ran through him. On the one paw, he was glad that she wouldn’t be finished off so easily, on the other paw, he had to admit that she was a more dangerous opponent than it was conducive for his mission.  
"Immediately pursue!"  
"Sir... the injured..."  
“We can take care of that later. She's not out to kill or she wouldn't have taken the tranquilizer darts. Go now!"  
"Yes, sir!"

He was just about to leave the room when the technician spoke up behind him.  
"Sir. At this rate the fox arrives at the ambush in less than a minute. "  
> He may be fast, but also significantly larger and heavier. He will certainly not be able to use the same trick...<

On the screen he could see the identical structure as in the previous ambush: Overturned table and behind it six heavily armed wild boars. Four ready to shoot over the table and one on each side.  
Everything was ready and now they were simply waiting that the fox would turn from his corridor into theirs and he would be done.  
Nick Wilde did not go in the direction of the ambush, but just seemed straight to the transverse corridor, while his arm with the weapon was held outstretched in her direction.  
Two quick shots and the room went dark.  
Also on the screen, but you could still hear the group leader's instructions coming.  
He had shot the lamps and brought darkness to the animals, but they were prepared and put on their night vision devices.  
The animals were in the dark for a maximum of five seconds, but now the corridor was empty and they were ready to fire again.  
"Sir, can it be that he kept running to avoid us?"  
"Negative. The camera down the aisle is still intact and doesn't show him."  
"Can it be he turned around while..."  
"Ugh..."  
The animal on the far left of the cover collapsed with a tranquilizer dart in its shoulder.  
"Where did it come from?"  
“Corridor is clear! He didn't come from there!"  
"The arrow is in his shoulder from the front, so it must have come from there!"  
"Ugh..."  
Now the animal on the far right also sagged.  
"FIRE!"  
The remaining animals opened fire in the corridor and especially on the edges where they thought Nick must have been hiding.  
They were so fixated on the open corridor that they did not notice Nick sneaking past the side of the table that the animals had overturned as cover and straightening up behind them.  
> Yes, yes. You don't even notice what's going on directly under your muzzle.<  
Four tranquilizer darts later the darkness and silence fell over the scene except for two words:  
"Sweet dreams."  
Shortly afterwards, the transmission of the camera was also finished.

As tempting as it was to run across the asylum and turn off the cameras, they were fully aware that they would run into ambushes because their opponents would only have to lie in wait at the end of a row of cameras. As they have seen, their opponents have already recognized this and tried to react accordingly.  
Fortunately for them, they weren't that easy to take by surprise.

In the surveillance room he had to watch with increasing frustration as more and more cameras failed and the mercenaries, who were actually excellently trained and proven, were denounced again and again by a bunny and a fox.

The ammunition and the areas where they could turn off the cameras did go rarer and when they met again they were almost surprised that they had not been caught.  
But this had not escaped someone else either.

"To all units: Report immediately to the guard station. Also the guards in front of the building. The outer perimeter remains occupied and on high alert!"  
On the remaining monitors one could see how the wild boars rushed into the building and took up position around the guard station.  
But this was no longer interesting. The majority of the remaining cameras belonged to the heavily guarded entrance, the guard station and corridors between.

A voice came over various loudspeakers in the institution.  
"Bravo. I have to admit that you are much more impressive in real than your files suggest.  
I even have an idea why you are here.  
So if you want to see Mrs. Winters alive, I advise you to go to the guard station on the first floor.  
I really hope I don't have to point out what happens if you don't show up unarmed. You won't need your bulletproof vests either.  
If you have the idea to call for reinforcements, it will be my pleasure to inform you that all radio signals to the outside are intercepted by the thick and well-shielded outer walls and windows of the institution. Just in case you haven't already noticed.  
You have five minutes or she dies."

Nick glanced at his watch and raised his eyebrows.  
"Ready for the grand finale?"  
"What do you think? What is he going to be more pissed off about? Us or himself?"  
"There's only one way to find out."  
"Yup. Into the wasp's nest."

The guard station was a large oval room with several levels. On the outer side passages were mounted, and in the center was a deep hole in the ground, from which a two-story, glazed tower protruded. Accessible only by a narrow bridge from the ground floor.  
A wild boar in a black suit stood on the railing around the upper floor, while heavily armed wild boars on both levels at the edge of the room pointed their weapons at the only entrance.  
The wild boar in the suit raised the microphone.  
"You still have a minute."  
"OK. Do not shoot! We're coming in."  
"At all: Al long as they obey you will not shoot! And now out with you, Officer Wilde, and you too, Officer Wilde."  
Nick stepped forward first. He had taken off his equipment as requested and was now walking slowly into the room with outstretched arms.  
Judy did the same about half a minute later, when the fire actually hadn't opened.  
First they noticed of course the many armed wild boars on hallways on both levels around the area. The boar in the black suit was also noticeable because it looked so out of place.  
Finally they saw a white figure who had been fixated on a type of treatment table in the upper floor of the glazed guard station.  
All eyes, and especially guns, were on Nick and Judy.  
"Very nice. I have to admit that, under other circumstances, I would have liked to meet and chat with you over a good cup of tea in a neutral place. In this way, however, it would not be very wise of me to approach you. Especially you Mrs. Wilde. After all, to this day you hold the academy's record for the fastest knockout against a rhino. I should hardly being able to make you break into a sweat."  
Nick had to clear his throat.  
"I am quite willing to agree with you on the last point, Mr.?"  
"Oh excuse me. Where are my manners? You can call me Mr. Smith."  
“As you wish, Mr. Smith. But if you are trying to flirt with my wife here, I have to tell you that I have to consider that as inappropriate. "  
Mr. Smith laughed at it.  
“I can assure you that I cannot have any interest of that kind in a rabbit. My parents raised me well."  
He began to grin broadly, but had to knit his eyebrows when the expected reaction from the fox below him didn't come.  
"Well. Then to the business: Who knows that you are here?"  
"Isn't that obvious? Chief Bogo. Add our colleagues and then, we have five... pardon six SWAT teams, are just waiting for their cue."  
Mr. Smith started laughing out loud again.  
"For real? How does your wife come to this statement?"  
He pressed a button on a voice recorder in his paw.

"You already realize that it is crazy to want to do this without reinforcements?"  
“Well you know me. Nothing ventured nothing gained."

"That sounds more like a spontaneous action, where you decided to keep going until you land where you are now."  
"Oh. I can assure you that she was only referring to the fact that we did not storm in here with a heavily armed force of trained soldiers. Unfortunately, this was not feasible..."  
"Somehow I think they are lying to me."  
Nick gave a horrified gasp and grabbed his chest.  
"I'm shocked. I am an animal of the law and yet I would never lie!"  
"I'm kind of sorry, but if you cannot be honest with me, so you now must die. Any last words?"  
"I really want to tell you something."  
Nick looked around and slowly turned around with outstretched arms.  
"To all of you."  
"And what would that be?"  
"Good night."  
Mr. Smith looked confused at the animals below and an uneasy feeling spread through him as both crouched down and covered their ears.

In the next moment all hell broke loose.  
Countless stun grenades detonated at the same time on the entire border at the level of the ground floor and the wild boars on the upper tiers opened fire...  
On their comrades!  
With tranquilizer darts!

He tried to regain his senses and the first thing he noticed was that the Wildes were no longer where they were just moments before.  
Mr. Smith staggered back and stepped through the door into the Center.  
These two had him somehow tricked, but he wouldn´t disappoint HER.  
Nobody was allowed to get hold of Winters. Still dazed, he drew his pistol and pointed it at the vixen.  
"Die!"  
Something hard hit him on the side and he crashed into the wall.  
He looked up and saw the gray outline of a rabbit. He was done, but he would still do his job!  
So he pointed his gun, which he still held in his hoof, at the blurry white figure on the table again. Before he had the trigger all the way down, three things happened almost simultaneously that kept him from his ultimate goal:  
First the table was knocked over by a red figure.  
When the shot went off, only the red figure went down.  
And again something hard hit him. This time in the muzzle and he could now even see it: the two elongated s hind legs of a gray doe.  
And while his eyes went black, he could just hear a dull scream.  
"NICK!"


	8. Goodbye

# Goodbye

The shot still rang in her ears, but that didn't matter. Nick had gone down and that was her main concern after Mr. Smith was knocked out.  
"NICK"  
It wasn't a whole heartbeat before she was by his side. He was on all fours and she put her paw on his trembling body, hoping the injury and pain weren't as bad as they seemed.

She winced when Nick made a sound that she least expected in this situation... Nick started laughing out loud!  
"Nick?"  
"HAHAHAHA! Bogo now owes us a weekend in a luxury hotel of our choice!"  
With that, Nick turned on his back and Judy was horrified that he was laughing even though he was bleeding.  
The bullet had caught him in the muzzle and tore open the skin and the associated blood vessels over his titanium muzzle and made a small dent in it.  
But the dent was nothing, which was not to patch up with a band aid and a few days’ rest.  
"He kept saying that I..."  
He pointed to his muzzle.  
"... will only have problems and that I will never owe it anything! But it saved my life!"  
"You are impossible."  
With that Judy allowed her head to sink into his chest and breathed deeply in the strong scent of fox.  
But something was wrong...  
It wasn't the slight smell of blood… No, it was pheromones… Fox… More precisely: Vixen!  
Judy jumped up as the most important thing came back to her mind: The captive!

She jumped up and around the overturned stretcher on which the white vixen was still tied and mumbled something to herself.  
There she released the bonds and Skye Winters collapsed like a wet sack while she continued to mutter, unimpressed.  
"... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing..."  
"Mrs. Winters. I'm Officer Wilde. We'll get you out of here."  
"... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing..."  
"Mrs. Winters, can you understand me?"  
"... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing..."  
"Nick! We need a medic! Fast!"  
Nick shouted through the door and wanted to go to the two women when he noticed something on the table. He went beside the stretcher and looked at several empty bottles, lying on one of the tables next to some syringes and wrinkled his nose.  
"What is?"  
"Sodiumamytal... Judy, you gave her a truth serum!"

Nick got down on his knees next to Judy and turned to the vixen.  
"What did they want to know from you?"  
"... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing... No... I tell you nothing..."  
He looked over and could only shake his head.  
"We'll take you to a doctor now."  
With that, Nick took her in his arms and was startled at how emaciated she really was. Then he went with her towards the door.  
Already after the first step he felt her nose on his throat, where she sniffed him and then took another deep breath.  
His eyes were already slightly dazed, as the pheromones she was giving off were so potent that any unattached fox would have mated with her long ago.  
Nick was glad he had Judy, otherwise nothing and nobody could have stopped him from mating with her here and now...  
Suddenly she stiffened in his arms and before he could fix his gaze on her, she pushed him away. Despite the fact that her fall on the hard ground would be painful.  
Judy was at his side and supported him even before he fell, while she stared at the vixen with a horrified look, who now crouched down whimpering, pulled her tail between her legs to her chest and really desperately clung to it.  
“No… Jack, where are you? ... No, not... Jack? … Where are you? ... No... Jack, I need you..."  
'Terrible' wasn't even close to fitting the feeling she went through when she saw this howling and desperate pile of misery in front of her.  
During her service, she had been able to take a look at the really dark sides of the city and she had seen this behavior in women. And every time it was like a blade in her chest as she inevitably grinded out what these women must have been through.  
"Do you think they have...?"  
"No Judy... It was crueler... We have to get her out of here and Savage has to get over here as soon as possible."  
Nick got down on his knees beside her and held out his paw. Before he even touched her, she stiffened again and Nick pulled back again. Before he turned to Judy.  
“Her condition is even worse than I feared. You have to support her until we are outside or the paramedics come towards us."  
Without saying anything, Judy crouched down beside her and held out her paw. When she didn't stiffen up, Judy put her paw on her shoulder and when there was no reaction, she also put the other paw on her shoulder.  
"We're taking you out to the paramedics now."  
When the vixen didn't react, Judy dared to walk around her and put her arm over her shoulders, but even then her legs wouldn't move. On the spur of the moment she slipped her other arm under her legs and was downright horrified when she, like Nick, had to realize how thin and light she was under her fur.

Nick leaned through the door.  
"Status?"  
"Secured!"  
"Well. Judy come with me."  
With that Nick started walking.  
In the room, the wild boars of the SWAT unit were about to tie up the mercenaries and transport them away. He had to make sure that no animal stood in their way while they were on their way out.  
Two zebras came towards them halfway, but before Nick could warn both of them they had already reached out for her and the vixen in Judy's arms had desperately clawed the paramedics and screamed in panic.  
"NO! AWAY! ... No... Jack... Jack..."

Nick quickly pushed them aside.  
“Mating season and forcibly separated from her mate. No male is allowed to approach her. Is there a female among the paramedics?"  
If the situation hadn't been so serious, Nick would have laughed himself to death when both zebras understood almost simultaneously and their eyes opened wide.  
“Car three, antelope. We will let her know."  
"Thanks."  
With that, they both sprinted to inform their colleague.  
Nick cleared the way again and made sure that no male helper even came near her.  
While it's only been a few minutes since they found Skye Winters, it felt like an eternity to both Nick and Judy. This was due in no small part to the fact that they were in a comparable situation and so they were able to understand well what had to go through their head.  
Once outside, the two paramedics were in position to direct them and when they arrived Judy made a jump past the antelope into the ambulance to put Skye down.  
Moments later, she was by Judy's side and began examining the vixen.

"How was her condition when you found her?"  
She fixed her gaze on Judy, who only referred to Nick.  
Nick answered at the same time.  
"Bad. They wanted information from her. She have been pawcuffed, probably all the time, and since it is now mating season for foxes, doing nothing is a worse torture than anything. In addition there were obviously several infusions of sodiumamythal."  
Nick turned to Judy briefly.  
“Get Savage here. She urgently needs him."  
Judy jumped out of the car to pick up her radio, only to find that it was still in the building with her other equipment.  
On the spur of the moment, she went a short distance to grab one of a wild boar that was just taking away a mercenary.  
“Chief, Wilde here. Is he ready to be brought in?"  
"He is on the way. He should get to you in less than two minutes."  
"Understood."

She turned and went back to the ambulance. Nick was already sitting there next to the antelope, who was taking care of the injury to Nick's snout.  
“Her mate is about to arrive. How is she doing?"  
The antelope answered without looking up from her work.  
“Exhausted, dehydrated and, due to the situation, under enormous hormonal stress. Nothing that a night with her fox, a few days of rest and plenty of fluids should not be able to fix."  
Nick and Judy looked at each other and grinned despite the situation.  
The antelope looked back and forth between the two.  
"OK. I have the feeling that I didn't get something important."  
The grin widened a little and before either of them could reply, a police car drove up and Liz and Freddy got out.  
Freddy came over to them while Liz opened the back door and a white rabbit with black stripes on its cheeks got out. He wore wide sweatpants and a light shirt with rolled up sleeves. Then there was the walking stick, on which he leaned to relieve his leg.  
He looked around and saw Judy standing next to Nick.  
"Where is she?"  
Both pointed over their shoulders to the ambulance behind them.  
Jack got as fast as he could and got into the ambulance, where Judy and Nick closed the doors right behind him.  
Freddy stood in front of the antelope and looked amused at its frozen snout.  
"Am I correct in assuming that you didn´t have informed her that he is a bunny?"  
Gleaming white teeth could be seen in the snouts of both Wildes when he turned around and Liz had to laugh too.

A loud noise made them fall silent, but their grin grew even wider. The sound of clothes that fell victim to impatient claws, was markedly pronounced.  
When the car started to sway a short time later, the antelope dared to say something.  
"... I didn't see that coming..."

After a few minutes, Judy poked Nick in the side.  
"We will be right back."  
With that, Nick and Judy went to the nearest ambulance.  
On the way they met Captain Nimh and his snout seemed to be divided about what to show.  
"Well, actually I should be horrified at what you did to your mate here... To present yourself as an oversized target in a building full of ice-cold, battle-hardened mercenaries?  
That’s crazy!  
Still, I have to admit that you were good. These animals were so fixated on you that they didn't even notice us when we placed the stun grenades less than a meter behind them!"  
"What should I say?  
They expected a fully equipped SWAT team. At most, that would have made them smile tiredly.  
But the fastest doe and slyest fox of the ZPD, which let them look like bloody greenhorn?  
They had to turn their attention onto us. Will you be present at the debriefing later?"  
“That is a redundant question. For nothing in the world I wouldn't want to miss that."  
"See you later."  
"See you."  
They separated and went on to the nearest ambulance. There they asked the paramedics for two blankets and two bottles of water. On the way back to the others, Nick leaned down to Judy and whispered in her ear.  
"I just wish we could be able to take care of my problem too."  
"Believe me. Me too. But then we need at least an hour, but unfortunately we don't have that."  
The others looked at them and wondered for a moment what they were doing with the blankets until they went to the door and knocked.  
“I'm sorry if we have to interrupt you, but that has to be enough for now. We have some important questions."  
Nick opened the door a crack and passed in one blanket and then the other.  
Then he opened the door completely and two animals came to light with a much more relaxed expression than before and both had thrown a blanket over themselves. What was left of her clothing lay in tatters on the floor.  
He got into the car and gave the two a bottle of water each.  
"Here. You will need it."  
"Thanks."  
As they ran the cool water down their throat, Nick detected a fine smell.  
His gaze went to Jack and there to his left shoulder.  
After Jack put down his bottle, Nick let his paw fall on the rabbit's shoulder. He winced and Skye looked at the place where the contact between the two still existed.  
Judy hadn't missed the rabbit's contact and reaction either. She smiled at Skye, however.  
"Don´t worry. He deserved it."  
Skye raised her eyebrows and looked at Jack.  
"Later."

“We have a few urgent questions for you, Mrs. Winters. Do you feel able to do that?"  
"I think so."  
"Well. Do you know why you were kidnapped? What do you know that they wanted to find out about you through truth serum and torture?"  
"They wanted to know... who I told about the book."  
"What book?"  
"I noticed an animal that was shadowing me..."  
"A wild boar?"  
"Yes exactly. I followed him... In... an old warehouse..."  
She ran her paw over her muzzle while Jack grabbed her other paw.  
“There was a… workshop there. With... with..."  
Skye shook his head.  
"It's hard to remember... what I..."  
“These are the remains of the truth serum in your blood. But try to remember anyway. "  
"There was a book... It was old... very old..."  
She emptied the bottle and passed it on to Judy.  
"There was something on the open page... it's blurry... Raddy´s... Baddy´s... No... Daddy´s... Daddy's bomb..."  
The ears of everyone present shot up at these words.  
"I turned the pages... to the beginning... There was a name..."  
"Can you remember which name?"  
"... ... Something about... anna... ... Dear diary... It was a diary... I... I don't remember... I arrived at our shelter... and then..."  
Jack handed her his bottle and she drained it in one go.  
"I read in it... her brother wasn't as good as her... Her daddy could do something that others couldn't... Another name... Ivan..."  
Nick and Judy turned pale when these things seemed pretty familiar to them.  
"Then came... a carpet?"  
“You were kidnapped. But I have to ask you to remember exactly the name at the beginning of the diary. Try to concentrate."  
Skye clenched her paws on her muzzle and shook her head vehemently.  
"... anna... anna... vanna... ... ... Ivanna... Ivanna? ... Yes, Ivanna..."  
“The diary was from Ivanna Koslov! That way they got the bomb plans!"  
"That is the proof that Ivan is innocent."  
"Just how did they got the book?"  
"What if she had it with her when she and Beatrice Big were kidnapped?"  
“That would explain a lot. But we need certainty..."  
The next moment she already had her phone to her ear.  
"... That's strange."  
"What?"  
"Mr. Big doesn't answer. Moment."  
Judy dialed another number.  
"Neither does FruFru... That is extremely unusual."  
"He... phoned."  
"Who?"  
"Smith."  
"Can you say with whom?"  
"No... He just called her 'Ma'am'..."  
Skye screwed up her eyes and grabbed her head in both paws as she desperately tried to concentrate and remember.  
"... How... would she... feel..."  
Everyone looked at Skye and the vixen continued after a moment.  
"... the daughter of the family... Big... if she... also learns what it is like... to lose the family... to be alone..."  
"Now I'm really worried... We should clear this up right away. This could mean that someone is targeting the Big family."  
"If we can't reach them by phone, I suggest we go there."  
“We can't do that. This mission has not yet been completed and we are therefore not allowed to leave yet."  
"Moment."  
Nick took out his own phone and dialed a number.  
“Chief, we have a lead. Winters apparently heard a conversation from Mr. Smith about the Big family. Attempts to reach them by phone failed. We need your permission to be able to leave the site immediately... Got it... Thank you."  
Nick turned back to Judy.  
“We have his OK. We take Freddy and Liz, go there and then get back to him.  
If everything is okay, we'll get Mr. Big up to speed and come back."  
"... What did you do with Chief Bogo?!"  
“He's pragmatic: If Mr. Big is actually in danger and the ZPD rescues him from it, then he owes us a favor. And he has principles. That is not a matter of course in the underworld. If we do our job well, everyone wins."  
"And what about the argument that we're saving lives with it?"  
"That too."  
Judy wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, so she just went to her colleagues and instructed them about their little trip while Nick got their equipment.

Since there was no acute danger, they had no clearance for sirens and flashing lights. In hindsight, this was even to their advantage when they arrived.  
Liz looked at the situation and said what went straight through her mind.  
"I have a very bad feeling about it."  
Her colleagues had to agree:  
The gate at the entrance to the property was wide open and the guards were nowhere to be seen. And that was an impossibility.  
They got out and carefully approached the gate.  
Freddy and Nick raised their paws at the same time, making their companions stop.  
They both sniffed the air and while Nick kept an eye on the surroundings, Freddy whispered to them.  
"It smells like fish. Plenty of fish."  
Judy took two careful steps towards Nick and tapped him lightly three times on the back. He then crouched down without a word and Judy jumped on his shoulders. As Nick straightened up, she put her paws on his head and raised her own ears to full size.  
The sight of it could have made people laugh under different circumstances, but their partners knew that this would allow them to combine their strengths in an extraordinary way.  
Judy was now sitting on Nick's shoulders with her eyes closed, her paws on his head and pointing his muzzle at any unusual noise that her sensitive ears heard.  
She aimed it at a bush near the wall that clearly made animal noises.  
A quick paw signal signaled their colleagues to have their weapons ready as they slowly approached the bush.  
This feeling of restlessness within her increased when she could identify the noises as a kind of smacking... someone or something was just about to eat something...  
Judy gave him a sign to stop and then he saw it:  
Moonlight fell through the leaves on two reflective objects and only a moment later it turned out that they were eyes that belonged to a white muzzle that slowly pushed its way through the leaves.  
"Sergej?"  
The polar bear came completely out of the bush, only he did so on all fours and when he stood in front of them he showed no sign of recognition... Instead he opened his mouth and gave an animal roar, with even parts of a fish in front of theirs Paws was thrown.

Even if it was years ago, they were still aware of the disturbing behavior of animals under the influence of the night howler serum. So it was not surprising that the polar bear couldn't take three steps before going down with two tranquilizers.

"Guys... It looks pretty bad... Freddy, call for reinforcements, Liz, come with us."  
While he was the youngest of them in terms of years of service, he had proven himself to be a natural leader on more than one occasion. Hence, they had no qualms about following his guidance when the situation called for.  
And the situation so called for it...

The front door was closed and they moved into position on the sides while Judy pressed her ear to the cool wood. She listened for almost a full minute trying to hear some form of movement. She then also heard them, but this was a good sign, because it was the paws of a wolf approaching them from the direction of the gate.  
Judy stretched out her paw in the direction of Nick and made the gesture for 'unclear', which in turn made him direct a quick series of paw signals to her colleagues that they should cover their backs.

Liz and Freddy unlocked their weapons and prepared to be able to react quickly to any threat while Nick put his paw on the doorknob.  
A quick glance confirmed that they were ready and he dared to open the door as quietly as possible, not taking his eyes off Judy, even for a moment, as she was still listening intently.  
Contrary to expectations, the entrance hall was vacant and if they hadn't already seen the animal outside, it could have seemed downright peaceful and completely normal.

The shattering of the china made them all look to the right side, where the door to the lavishly equipped kitchen was. Nick went ahead again, Judy flicked her ears back and forth and behind them were Liz and Freddy, back to back to keep an eye on both directions.

Once there, he opened the door a crack and looked inside. What he saw made his blood freeze in his veins: five polar bears lay in the middle and ate something, while another one tampered with one of the storage cupboards. And the latter was on all fours!  
They had to be careful and weren't allowed to make any noise, he made this understandable again with paw signs.  
Back in the entrance hall they heard a loud throat clearing.  
They looked up at the gallery and saw three wild boars there, two of them wearing uniforms like the ones in the Cliffside Asylum, and one of them was a female in a clearly expensive but functional suit.

“It's unfortunate, but that smack from Smith obviously failed. Did he at least die in agony?"  
"No, he's still alive, Mrs.?"  
"What the heck? You're about to die anyway. I am Mariella Bellucci. And now: FOOD!"

Nick reacted before he could even consciously notice it.  
"Make a ring! Prepare weapons to fire! "  
The four cops stood back to back and had their weapons at the ready when polar bears seemed to come out of all the doors and they roared much more.

Nick had to swallow and could only say one thing:  
"… Damn…"  
Despite the serious situation, Freddy dared to try to lighten the mood.  
"Oh, there are some very different words going through my head."  
Judy glanced quickly over her shoulder before returning to the animals circling her.  
"You already realize that this is usually Nick's job?"  
“Have you noticed that he's acting more like someone else at the moment? Somebody had to replace him."  
Before they could give it any further thought, the first bear pounced on its potential prey.  
As soon as the first animal was on the ground, the next arrived and were just as quickly turned off. Animal after animal fell victim to the cops' tranquilizer darts, until Liz discovered that she had just run out of ammunition...  
Moments later, Nick and Freddy reported, one after another, that they were also running out of ammunition.  
But it seemed over. The polar bears' bodies had already formed considerable mountains around them when they tried to make their way to the access to the upper floor. Judy looked at her gun.  
"I have another one."

"What a coincidence."  
She immediately pointed her gun at the boar and also the word.  
“Surrender! You have no chance!"  
"Well, if you waste the arrow on me, then I can't enjoy the show at all."  
Liz noticed it first: Her eyes weren't on her group of cops, but on something behind them.  
A polar bear stood on one of the mountains of sleeping bears and jumped. She tensed her muscles and threw herself at him with all her strength. She was the largest animal among them and was the only one with the chance to release enough kinetic energy to stop him... even if it might hurt like hell...  
She roared loudly and actually managed to push him away from his target.  
The polar bear's claws narrowly missed Freddy when he hit the ground with Liz around his neck next to the group.  
The moment left no time for plans, so Judy did the only thing that came on her mind: She fired at the bear, incapacitating him.  
Now he was sleeping on the floor and Liz half under him... only her legs protruded from under the massive mountain of meat and if they did nothing, their fate would be sealed.  
"Judy, under him and press up! Freddy, right leg! "  
Nick himself grabbed her left leg and gave the commands.  
"On three! One. Two. THREE!"  
Judy gritted her teeth and, thanks to her strong legs, actually managed to lift the bear far enough that her colleagues could pull Liz out from under him.  
As soon as she was free, she had to gasp and could only pant.  
“Liz! How are you?"  
"I... I will... survive..."  
"Let's see if we can change that."  
Before anyone could react, a small, gray ball flew directly into Liz´ maw and shattered into a fine gray-blue powder.  
“So bad luck that you no longer have any tranquilizer arrows. Killing her would now be the only way to ensure your safety."  
The boar above them started laughing while Liz sneezed and after a few moments began to roll over.

It didn't take a superior intellect to imagine what would happen next. Liz got up on all fours and snapped at them.  
The only thing that spoke in their favor at the moment was that Liz was limping. She had obviously injured her right shoulder while catching the bear and this clearly hindered her.  
With bared teeth, she came closer and closer to them, while Nick tried to think of a way to save them all.  
The door to the stairwell was very close and if they could get there they could barricade the door and the reinforcements could take care of Liz.  
A quick look and an inconspicuous movement with his paw signaled what he wanted from her, while he got ready to distract Liz with a leap to the side.  
"NOW!"  
With his call, on the one paw, Liz had caught the attention of himself and his quick leap at one of the stunned polar bears had made her leap in his direction.  
With a loud roar, Liz collapsed as she put weight on her injured shoulder. Judy ran to the door and she had to find out with horror that it was already barricaded and could not be opened.  
“It's getting boring. I will leave you to the deadly paws of this wild animal while I attend to the murders of my family."  
So the three wild boars turned and left the room through a door upstairs, which led into the wing with the various offices and Mr. Big´s personal office.

They were running out of time, they knew that much. They were also aware that the reinforcements had to arrive as soon as possible if they hoped to be able to survive this situation without putting themselves or Liz in unnecessary danger.  
Nick was about to turn to Freddy when he saw the remains of his radio on his belt.  
He looked around and when he saw a pile of magazines on a table next to Freddy he had an inspiration.  
"Freddy, grab the magazines over there and when I tell you, throw them at Liz to get her attention. Be ready to lure her away. Outside, hopefully in the arms of the reinforcements."  
"Understood."  
"Judy, take that as a step..."  
Nick pointed to a candle holder on the wall below the balustrade.  
"... and then up with you. I'll get up too."  
"OK."  
"Freddy, now!"  
He picked up the pile and began to toss magazine after magazine at Liz, knowing full well that this will get her attention, but it won't hurt her any further.  
The look that the tigress gave the wolf sent ice-cold shivers down his spine and he hoped that his former partner would never show him this look again.  
Now it was time to run... fast... Despite her injury, she was damn fast on the straight. Even in left turns. Only when he dodged to the right could he force her to stress her injured shoulder, which made her stumble and gave him the opportunity to put a little distance between himself and his pursuer.  
Before he could storm out the door he could see Judy and Nick running through the door which the wild boars had passed.

But that should be the least of his worries at the moment, when he was just able to jump out of her fangs.  
He dropped the magazines in his paws to be faster and even went so far as to get down on all fours...  
>To the gate!<  
He got everything out of his muscles that was possible for him, but Liz, simply because of her size, took significantly larger steps than him and caught up much faster than he would actually like ...  
Just a few more bushes and he might be able to close the gate before she could reach him.  
But something happened that couldn't have happened at a worse time:  
A small hole in the ground was his undoing when he stepped into it with his right, back paw and he thought he heard the cracking of the bones while he went down.  
He followed his gut instinct and rolled over to the right, only to find that he had made the right decision. Liz landed right in front of him and he got caught on something... a tree stood in the way and prevented him from rolling away any further.  
Her claws passed right in front of his snout and caught on your protective vest. In doing so, they not only tore the same from his body... A cry of pain escaped his throat as her claws ran over his chest and left bloody wounds.  
He opened his eyes and saw only the bared teeth right in front of his muzzle and a tear wet his fur when he thought of his family.  
>Farewell...<

They slipped across the aisle and, like in the institution, Judy used her sensitive hearing through the closed doors to listen.  
Both knew how dangerous it was to follow the criminals, especially when they hadn´t ammunition for their weapons anymore, but the Big family's life was at stake and thus they had to rely on their martial arts and natural skills if necessary.

About halfway up the corridor, voices could be heard from the room on their right:  
“Let them go. They weren't even born when I called out the feud!"  
“You had my family eliminated! I only repay like with like."  
“Let the Big family out of there! After kidnapping and murdering my sister, MY father built the bomb and carried it when it detonated! If you want to take revenge, then on ME! "  
"AT HIS COMMAND!"  
Nick and Judy dared to open the door carefully and could see the animals inside.  
On a table were Mr. Big, FruFru, her husband and little Judy. On the floor next to it, Koslov lay in chains. Mariella Bellucci stood in front of them with her arms folded. Her two guards were hidden from view, but they were certainly in the room as well.  
On her snout, a broad grin formed and she stretched her arm back out of her field of vision. Then she took two steps forward and addressed the polar bear in front of her directly.  
"So loyal... even to death?"  
"Without hesitation!"  
She started to laugh.  
“Then I'll offer you a deal: I'll loosen your bonds in a moment. If you spare them, they can go on living. Deal?"  
"Deal! I would never harm them!"  
"For sure?"  
Before Nick and Judy could react, she raised a gun, stuck the barrel in Koslov's maw and pulled the trigger five times in quick succession.

The events that followed happened so quickly that they could hardly tell who did what and when.  
With one swift movement, she opened the lock on the chains around Koslov.  
Nick pushed the door open, stormed into the room with Judy and both raised their empty weapons.  
"ZPD! Drop your weapons!"  
The two wild boars in the back of the room stood next to a connecting door. They raised their weapons and began shooting small gray-blue pellets in their direction.  
Koslov began to gasp, cough and choke. He rolled over on the floor and pressed both paws against his head.

The polar bear's deafening roar brought the situation to a standstill and calm for a moment as everyone looked at him.  
Without thinking about it, Judy dropped her gun and jumped to the table, picking up the entire Big family. She pushed off, back in Nick's direction, as the first projectiles enveloped the table in a fine mist.  
Nick closed the door behind them and they stormed down the corridor.  
Even if the family didn't weigh much, their presence on her arm was an obstacle for Judy, so she spontaneously opened one of the drawers on one of the side tables and put it down. She had just closed it again and continued on the way with Nick when the door was broken open behind them and a wild polar bear, who once responded to the name Ivan Koslov, stormed towards them.

They ran for their lives. No more and no less. But Nick still managed to organize his thoughts.  
"You on the left, me on the right."  
Without answering Judy made a leap to the next door and opened it while Nick checked the rooms on the right.  
Both were storage rooms without windows...  
Likewise the next pair of rooms and the following one.  
They could only hope that this pattern would not continue with the last pair, but unfortunately their prayers were not answered... Now there was just a massive wall at the end of the corridor.  
Nick looked around, but they didn't have much to work with.  
Meanwhile, the only potential projectile, a fox-sized vase, was beyond Koslov and therefore currently unreachable.  
He needed an idea... right now...  
>I urgently need a brainstorm... a... brainstorm...?!<  
Even if he would never do that under normal circumstances, he had no other choice.  
He grabbed Judy's ear and pulled it to his muzzle, where he hastily whispered some instructions.  
Even before Judy could really process what Nick had asked her to do, he started running.

Judy was only half a heartbeat behind him, but Nick had taken the position that was most likely to be injured or even devoured in one piece.  
Koslov was only a meter away from them and he was getting closer and closer.

Nick crouched down and pushed himself off the floor with all his might in the direction of a lamp hanging from the ceiling.  
The polar bear opened its maw to swallow the fox whole, but he didn´t notice the much smaller animal, which fell on its back and kicked with all his might against the jaw of the bear.  
The maw was closed and this was exactly what Nick needed , because it hit him right in the stomach and robbed him of a split second breath.  
But the kick and the resulting up-thrown snout he was a thrown even higher, what Nick allowed to reach the lamp. He grabbed this and smashed the glass on the hard skull of the polar bear before ramming the now exposed, burning lamp into the bear's neck. Nick could only hope that he hit the right spot, otherwise that would have been it for him. The lights flickered briefly before Koslov collapsed unconscious and they could take a deep breath... 

“I am quite impressed. But your training is clearly better than I would have expected."  
They looked up and down the aisle the three wild boars stood with their weapons at the ready.  
"Where are these disgusting shrews?"  
"Safe. They should have already left the building."  
"With that you have sealed your fate... you will die in their place."  
"You will not succeed!"  
“You have the ability to think quickly and outside the box. Otherwise it would not have been possible for you to take out these mice's lap bear. These two wild boars are unlikely to pose a threat. But I can change that. FIRE!"  
The two wild boars pulled the triggers of their weapons and sent their projectiles at the two animals. And even if they were able to avoid some of them, on the one paw the lack of cover ensured that they were hit more often, on the other hand they were shrouded in a fine mist within a few moments.  
A terrible burn spread through their bodies and it was clear to both of them what was going to happen...  
They looked at each other and knew that the tears had nothing to do with the fine powder.  
Even when they fell on their paws and struggled in vain, the only thing they could think of was what Nick would do to Judy.  
"I am sorry…"  
"It's not your... fault... I... I... love you..."


	9. Relevations

# Revelations

Panic was a fitting word for what she was feeling. Whatever she expected, she would never have considered such a brutal bloodbath.  
She had to get out of there and quickly!  
Her plan was simply to jump over the balustrade, only to get away faster, when two wolves in SWAT body armor and weapons at the ready got in her way.  
"ZPD! Drop the gun and down on the ground!"  
A part of her could understand the request and even obey her as far as to drop the gun, but the panic did not stop her, so she just jumped over the balustrade and before she even reached the ground, she was hit by two tranquilizer arrows and she didn’t even notice the impact anymore.

This behavior was confusing for the two animals. So they first looked down and saw that their colleagues were already tending to the wild boar. So they could take care of what was beyond the door through which she had fled in panic.  
One of them opened the door and only a fraction of a second later his comrade pointed the unlocked weapon in the corridor beyond... and froze with wide eyes.  
This reaction was unusual, so he dared a look and he could feel the color fading from his muzzle.  
"Mother mercy!"

Chief Bogo was divided about hospitals. On the one hoof he detested having to visit one or more of his animals here, on the other hoof the alternative...  
Animals ended up in the morgue that night...

He didn't let his thoughts show, and as he walked down the corridor of the secured wing he passed several cells that were guarded by heavy SWAT units. Like everyone else, he naturally hoped they weren't needed, but you couldn't be too careful in a situation like this. 

Polar bear after polar bear were in the cells and the doctors were just waiting for the moon dust to wear off or for the antidote to work.  
He could still remember too well how the first attempts at an antidote produced almost catastrophic results. And moon dust was different from the Nighthowler serum of the past, even if it was based on the same principles as.

It had been six hours since the raids at the Cliffside Asylum and the Big family estate, but unfortunately he hadn't been able to show up earlier.  
If he was lucky, then at least one of his animals would be conscious and he could get a first overview of the events.

He turned into a side corridor and there were no guards at the first door. It wasn't necessary either, as it was just injuries, but it didn't make it any easier.  
Chief Bogo knocked and after a quiet request to enter, he did just that.  
He was not really surprised to see Lea Wolford at the bed of her mate, where she hold his paw in her own.  
His upper body was heavily bandaged and there was a heart monitor, a respirator and a stand with an IV solution next to the bed. The latter is likely to deliver strong pain meds.  
"Chief Bogo."  
“Mrs. Wolford. I am sorry it came to this. May I ask how he's doing?"  
The she-wolf smiled a little.  
She knew the job was dangerous and that they would face hospitalization at any time, but it was still hard to see her mate lying there.  
And even if it was only a few times that she had to visit him in the hospital, Chief Bogo was a good animal and, despite his rough skin, was able to make it clear to her how much he regretted the circumstances that led to the wounding of each of his animals.

"According to the circumstances. His lungs were injured, but the doctors have assured me that it will leave no permanent damage. In the worst case scenario, the wounds will leave slight scars...  
The worst thing for him should be the itching when the fur grows back on his chest."

A few moments of silence passed, only broken by the beeping of the heart monitor, before she addressed Chief Bogo directly.  
“Can you tell me what exactly happened? How did it come about?"  
As she did so, she pointed to the motionless figure on the bed in front of her.  
“At the moment I can only tell you the obvious, which you must have heard from the others already.  
His colleagues were given a new drug similar to the night howler serum from a few years ago, but the only animal that could tell what actually happened at the moment is hiding behind his lawyers in the hope of somehow getting out of there...  
But I can assure you that she will not succeed."  
"Thanks."

He nodded and calmly left the room.  
One done, two were still ahead.  
His next destination was just one door further, and there too he got the permission to enter.

There was a bed here, too, but here Elizabeth Fangmeyer lay on it and was fixed with numerous belts and even a few chains, while an infusion hung on a stand.  
Her mate James was sitting at her side and he was holding her paw.  
He only nodded to Chief Bogo and he returned the greeting in the same way.  
"She is one of the kindest animals I have ever met and yet... she lies here... chained up like a monster...  
It's just not fair!"  
He jumped up, picked up a water bottle from the table, and reached out to throw it against the wall. However, he froze at the last moment and after a few moments of tense silence he let himself down, put the bottle down again and took her paw back into his.  
“If it were just the injury, it wouldn't be a big deal. A few broken bones in her shoulder and upper arm. Nothing that a few weeks of rest cannot fix.  
They give her a strong sleeping drug to keep her calm so that she doesn't worsen the injury.  
But... this stuff... they don't know... whether there are... side effects... whether these... can be permanent..."  
Chief Bogo couldn't answer that, he didn't know how bad moondust really could be.  
So he had no choice but to put the hoof on his shoulder and assure him of his support.  
“Would it be possible to let me see the animal that is responsible? So for... five minutes?"  
Chief Bogo couldn't help grinning at the thought.  
“A tempting thought. Unfortunately, the laws do not allow this."  
He directed his gaze back to his mate and the slight smile disappeared from his snout.  
"Nevertheless, thank you for showing up."  
"Of course."

The last door in this corridor led to a cell where he was completely at a loss as to what to expect...  
"Come in."  
The two women at the pane of glass turned to him, while beyond the glass he could see a red figure curled up on the floor.  
"Mrs. Hopps, Mrs. Wilde."  
"Chief Bogo."  
"How are…?"  
As he did so, he pointed to the pane.  
"Well, given the circumstances, they're doing great."  
The buffalo could not reply at first because he was not sure what to reply to.  
"You don't seem to have been informed?"  
"I only skimmed the report briefly before I came here."  
Both women started giggling.  
"They are both in this cell because they were 'inseparable' when they arrived."  
"Aren't these two always that?"  
"Oh no... they..."  
Bonnie's ears snapped up and turned, causing her body to twist in the same direction.  
"... they will be again in a few."  
Even if he wouldn't describe himself as prudish or uptight, the sight of the fox, how he sniffed over the rabbit's backside and let his tongue flick out again and again, was extremely unusual. When he climbed it and let his abdomen snap back and forth, he even blushed and turned away.  
The rabbit ignored him when she turned to the vixen at her side.  
"This is now the seventh round if I haven't miscounted."  
"No you have not. But I have to admit that I'm getting jealous of Judy. Even though Nicholas is my own flesh and blood."  
"I know what you mean. But when you consider how long it must have been piling up... After all, they were separated from each other for several days."  
"... Can we continue our conversation in front of the door?"  
Both women looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and accompanied him to the door.  
Outside Chief Bogo first had to rub his muzzle with his hoof before shaking his head to get these images out of his head.  
The two women at his side were very amused, but they were both endowed with an appropriate portion of life experience and thanks to Bonnie, Marian had a relationship with sex that was at least much closer to that of bunnies.  
"... Have the doctors been able to give a prognosis for how long this... condition will last?"  
"Unfortunately not. After all, it is also the mating season for Nicholas and Judy has meanwhile also gone from the pill. Thus, in addition to the hormonal catastrophe caused by the drugs, there is also this and they have never really paid attention to this before when this time has occurred in the past few years. It may take days or just..."  
They were torn from their conversation by loud screams from the room.  
Screams that were unexpected but still longed for.  
"NIIIIICK!"  
"JUDYYYY!"

All three rushed into the room and saw how fox and bunny scented each other hectic, almost frantically scented with their snouts and cheeks their partners head while it was clearly audible through the wall how they sniffed and moaned each other’s names...  
"Nick!"  
"Judy!"  
"Nick!"  
"Judy!"  
"Wilde!"  
The last name didn't come from the two behind the glass and Nick needed some effort to direct his gaze to his superior. But he couldn't stop inhaling the sweet and indescribably intense scent of his mate.  
"Chief..."  
One arm went around Judy's waist and he pulled her close. With a jerk he sat up and pulled his tail between his legs, to the front, where Judy still hung wide apart, so everything important to be covered.  
Then he took a few steps towards the glass, staggering like a drunk, but with every single movement both rolled their eyes and had to moan.  
When he got to the pane, he went down on his knees and pressed both his snout and Judy's snout to one of the holes in the pane that allowed the animals to talk to those on the other side.  
"... paws... paws..."  
Marian understood and pressed both paws to the hole.  
“Bonnie, you too. So he can only smell our scent."  
With that, she indicated the hole in front of Judy's snout.  
Both mothers felt the warm breath of their kits on their paws for a few minutes while they tried to calm down.  
"Mrs. Wilde?"  
“The mate's scent is something very powerful. But also the scent of a mother. Only our smell is soothing."  
"Yes, mom."  
All but Judy fixed their gaze on Nick.  
"Wilde?"  
"The... moon dust is... indescribable... Everything is so intense... Even now..."  
"Are you completely yourself again?"  
"Yes... but I don't know... if I can stand it... being apart… from Judy... OH!!"  
"NICK!"  
As Nick began to relax, his tail slid down a little. This set off a chain reaction when he ran it over Judy's still extremely sensitive breasts.  
Judy rolled her eyes, tensed again, and the contraction of her muscles went through her entire body. Especially at the point where she was still connected to him for the next hour. Nick also had to roll his eyes and his hips made some jerky movements.  
It caused him almost physical pain to pull himself together and stop them both.  
He pressed their snouts back into the holes and after what felt like an eternity he dared to say something again.  
"... Is... possible to get a... blanket? ... And a... Oh... possibility... to let you know... when it... wears off? ..."  
Chief Bogo made no sound, just nodded before leaving the room.  
"Nick? We're here."  
"It's one thing... if you sure want... to check… if everything is… ok with us... But I can´t... control... And I have to admit... it's a... ... strange feeling that of all of you are... watchAHHHHH... watching..."

After Chief Bogo had informed the doctors about the condition of the two, he let them shut down the sleeping drugs for Liz to see whether the moondust had subsided on her too or not.  
But this could not happen as quickly as he would have liked, as the sleeping drugs could only be withdrawn in stages for medical reasons.  
So it happened that Lea Wolford approached him and informed him that her mate had woken up.  
"Chief."  
"Wolford. How are you?"  
"Like after a sparring round with both Wildes together."  
Chief Bogo screwed up his snout, because this had become a synonym within the station for a state in which one ponders whether it would not be more pleasant to give the poor guy the coup de grace.  
"My condolences."  
"Thanks."  
"Do you remember what happened?"  
“After I called for reinforcements, the four of us went inside. We checked a noise from the kitchen, but there were polar bears there, obviously also under moondust. When we got back to the entrance hall, there were three wild boars. The female said her name... Mariella Bellucci... and then she shouted to attract the bears. We were able to tranq them, but the last one came later. He had sneaked up and if Liz hadn't thrown herself at him, we might all be dead. Judy used their last dart to tranq him, but Liz was buried under him. We were able to free her, but then the female shot Liz with moondust and announced that the Big family would be wiped out before she disappeared through a door. Nick instructed me to lure her away while he and Judy chased the boars.  
I lured her out, tripped and was injured. I thought I was done, but the last thing I saw was Liz collapse. How are the others?"  
“Fangmeyer was taken care of, immobilized and will hopefully wake up again soon. The Wildes were obviously pumped full of moondust, but Bellucci´s plan didn't quite work as intended..."  
"What do you mean??"  
"Well... his instinct... apparently took care of the boars. It was quite a mess."  
"They undoubtedly deserved it."  
"When the two of them are clear in their heads again I will let them describe the events to me."  
"How are the two?"  
"The moon dust has obviously subsided enough that they are aware of themselves again, but the sensitization has not yet subsided."  
"Can I see them?"  
"They are both... indisposed..."  
Chief Bogo blushed and even Lea could say that this was unusual for the chief.  
"Chief?"  
"... you should know that moondust speaks to the instincts."  
"Yes. If I had to guess, they threatened Judy and he hunted them down for that."  
"And AFTER that?"  
"??? ... After removing the danger, Judy was safe... ..."  
Freddy's eyes got bigger and bigger...  
"You are kidding me!"  
Chief Bogo was trying desperately to suppress a grin and just shook his head.  
The howling of the wolf and his mate could still be heard at the entrance of the hospital, while Freddy desperately pressed both paws on his chest to keep the pain under control. But it was worth to him.

It had been two hours, when he returned in the hospital and stood before the now presentable Wildes.  
"Have you got your... instincts... under control again?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Well. Then can you tell me what you remember after you and Wolford broke up?"  
“Mrs. Bellucci put Koslov under moondust so that he could kill the Big family. We were able to save the family and hide them before Koslov could follow us. After he was out, we were shot with a large dose of moondust... Then... it was..."  
Nick put his paw on her left shoulder because her right one was still injured... by him...  
"It was as if my body was no longer mine..."  
"What do you mean?"  
“I could still hear, smell and feel, only much more intensely. But worst of all, I had no control over him, just my instincts. It was like I could hear the thoughts of my instincts.  
Simple thoughts, but still... 'Fox! Predator! Danger!' that kept popping into my head, but no matter how hard I tried, they weren't listening to me. I kept screaming, 'This is Nick! You don´t have to be scared!' but nevertheless my body felt panic at the sight of him... and fled into the next room. I knew it was a dead end, but they weren't listening. Nick followed me and when I wanted to leave the room again, one of the wild boars blocked my way and kicked me.  
I felt much pain and then I was hurt by a nail or something. Nick came closer and sniffed me. Then he licked my wound and his nose drove to my throat, where he always leaves his scent on me.  
Then something happened. I can't pinpoint it, but suddenly they sensed that Nick wasn't a threat.  
Bellucci said she found that disgusting, and Nick approached the wild boar. He seriously injured the first wild boar when it tried to strike. Then it crawled away and Nick followed it. I couldn't see anything anymore because they had moved away from the door. Only hear their screams."  
At this point, Chief Bogo turned to Nick directly.  
"Wilde?"  
“I killed both wild boars for daring to hurt Judy. After that, my instincts claimed their rights... Like the past hours."  
And Nick went through the events again in his mind.


	10. Moodndust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a more detailed flashback to Nick´s point of view, while he take care of the treats for his mate, before he follows his insticts.
> 
> Those who dont like the idea of a savage Nick killing his enemies can akip this chapter without missing a part of the story.

# Moondust

_They looked at each other and knew that the tears had nothing to do with the fine powder.  
Even when they fell on their paws and struggled in vain, the only thing they could think of was what Nick would do to Judy.  
"I am sorry…"  
"It's not your ... fault ... I ... I ... love you ..."_

__

The pain seemed to want to go on forever and Nick wished he could simply be unconscious and represent no danger to Judy.  
But as quickly as the pain arose, it was gone.  
Only now something was different...  
It was as if his sense of smell was many times more intense.  
As if he could feel every single fiber of the carpet below his paws.  
Not only could he hear his own heart racing, but Judys by his side too.  
_> Rabbit... prey... meat... warm... juicy... meat...<_  
What was that?  
Without his intervention he took a step towards Judy and he could feel his mouth watering.  
She looked at him and what he saw horrified him: Fear!  
Only the bloodcurdling stench of fear was worse.  
_Judy is not afraid of anything or anyone..._  
She backed away from him, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as knowing that this fear of him was justified.  
He could hear himself growling and in the next instant his body even dared to snap at her!  
Judy fled through the next open door.  
_NO! Not in there! This is a death trap!_  
It hurt to see Judy huddle in the corner in panic.  
He approached her, teeth bared, and the stench of fear masked every other smell.  
Nick jumped into the corner and Judy jumped hard into the other corner, from where she tried to escape through the door.  
She had almost made it when the massive shape of a wild boar stood in her way.  
But before she could evade it, it kicked and she flew across the room against the wall.  
She let out a terrible, animal scream of pain and as she fell down the wall she landed on an old broom with a nail sticking out from it. Another cry of pain was the result.  
_JUDY!_  
He didn't know why, but his body hesitated to approach its now defenseless prey.  
The pain superimposed the fear and now the fox within could detect something.  
A scent...  
He approached her slowly and sniffed hard.  
>Familiar...<  
_Yes! Yes! This is Judy! You mustn't do anything to her!_  
His nose approached the small wound and the small drops of blood that oozed from there.  
A tremor went through his body as he tasted her blood on his tongue.  
> Familiar...???<  
He ran his nose through the fur of his prey and the confusion kept growing until he got to her throat and smelled his own scent there. But not just light as from simple contact... This intense scent could only mean one thing...  
> Mate?<  
_YES! THAT IS HER! SHE IS OUR MATE!_  
>Mate... injured...<  
His prey now began to sniff at him and when she ran her chin over his muzzle, the scent became even more intense...  
"I feel sick!"  
The female boar made a few more choking noises before stepping back.  
Nick could feel how an important realization and the corresponding conclusion came to the fox:  
>Mate injured! Protect mate!<  
_... Don't hold back... make them pay for it..._  
The fox raised its fur and bared its teeth as it slowly turned towards the boars.

__

"What does that mean?"  
Nick approached them and one of the boars struck. Only the fox reacted much faster than he had expected and this one grabbed his arm just under his shoulder with his maw. A quick jerk and the cracking of bones was heard before he stared in disbelief at the fox, trying to process why the fox carried his severed arm in its maw.  
A few moments later, the boar began to roar, pressing against the bloody stump that was once its arm. He slumped and fell on his back, where he tried desperately to move his legs away from this predator in front of him.  
When it approached him again he tried to kick it, but found that it was a mistake when he thought he would pass out from the pain when his left leg shared the fate of his right arm and the ground around him became colored in a bright red by his blood.  
He looked around in horror and hoped for the help of his comrade, but he could only watch as both his comrade and his superior ran away in panic.  
The last thing he could feel was a weight on his chest and teeth on his throat before the pain stopped...

__

>One down... two more...<  
The other animals that had injured his mate were on the run, but not for long. Because the fox began a forced march and managed to reach the second wild boar in uniform before it even got close to the door. The fox snapped and caught it in the ankle. The crack when the fox closed its maw around it and thus separated it from the rest of the body, he could hear it before he registered what brought him down.  
Only a short moment later, this animal was also scared to death when it felt the fox begin to run its claws over its back. It didn't take long for the claws to find the point where the protective layer of his protective vest ended at the level of his neck and with a strong jerk it was gone. His back was now at the mercy of the infernal beast and it did not take long before almost unbearable pain ran through his body as well as the claws of the fox. Despite the pain, he could clearly feel the blood running down his sides under his vest. None of the animals present would ever forget the rhythmic clacking that his claws made as they passed over the back bones of his chest, leaving deeper and deeper furrows. Then a crack was heard as the first rib gave way under the onslaught... And another... And another...  
Only a few moments later he had trouble breathing when he got to his lungs, but whether consciously or not, the fox closed its mouth around the now exposed spine and ended this life with a strong jerk.

__

After his second prey had been killed, the fox looked up and saw the female wild boar rushing through the door and slamming it behind her.  
Before he could follow her, he heard a whimper behind him.  
>Mate...<  
_Judy!_  
Behind him, the fox could hear the rabbit making an animal sound that he instinctively associated with calling for her mate.  
Moments later he was by her side, sniffing along her. When he got back to her head he smelled his scent again, which marked her as his mate. And he stroked his head again over her muzzle, her ears and especially over her neck and throat.  
The pain was just an unpleasant odor, the fear was completely gone. What he now smelled was the wonderful scent of a fertile female...  
He wanted more of it, so his nose wandered down her body to her short but soft stubby tail. When his tongue shot out, the taste was just... wrong.  
Nick could hardly believe what his body was doing here, because he had just brutally killed two animals and now his body was demanding his right to mate with his… mate...  
He slid his fangs over her pants and when one got stuck in her tail hole, a jolt was enough and even Nick felt a bit dazed by her unobstructed scent.  
His tongue shot out again, but this time both Nick and his instincts felt like they were in paradise.  
Judy began to pant and even her little tail began to wiggle happily back and forth as she continued to drive around and present her back to him.  
Now came the point when the animal within realized that it was also wearing pants and it threw itself on its back to make short work of the cramped garment with its claws and teeth.  
When he didn't want to parry immediately, he whimpered and the rabbit at his side spun around and began rubbing her snout against his to calm him down and she was quite successful with it.  
Nevertheless, it took the two animals far too long before the fox was able to free himself far enough.  
Then the time had finally come. The rabbit crouched down and wiggled her tail while the fox pushed itself over her with almost painfully slow movements.  
Nick wasn't sure what the reason was, but he was glad that he wasn't getting into his mate as stormily as he wanted in his imagination.  
Did his instincts know he had to be careful?  
Did he have more control than he thought?  
Whatever it was, he was grateful for it. But then came the moment when he penetrated her and he thought he was going mad because of the many times more intense feelings that he had from the moondust.  
Nick could not think clearly while the animal in him was in control of his body and indulged in the instincts of mating season.  
His movements became more and more frantic and Nick felt his climax approaching.  
The feelings were so intense that he thought it couldn't get better, but then he felt something warm and indescribably sweet on his tongue and he thought he would black out.  
It took what felt like an eternity until this indescribable euphoria subsided and he slowly became aware of his body again. And he was horrified to find that he had scorched his fangs in her shoulder and it was her blood that had made him feel that way. But the rabbit below him did not try to flee or squirm in pain, nor could he detect fear or pain in her scent.  
They remained motionless for a while until the day's events took their toll.  
So his body curled up around his now sleeping mate and his tail lay over her while he cleaned the wounds on her shoulder with his tongue, before he pressed his nose into her neck and listened to her even breathing until the exhaustion made his eyes heavy.

__


End file.
